Injustice Book 1: A Journeys Beginning
by Carrots123
Summary: His life was never simple, always struggling to survive from one day to the next. In a city such as Gotham, he was lucky to not have been corrupted by the darkness that surrounded him every day. However, a simple push was all it took for his entire life to change. For the world around him to become more complicated than ever before. Book 1 in the Injustice: The Path to Hell series.
1. Chapter I - Desperation

**Injustice: The Path to Hell.**

**Book 1: A Journey's Beginning.**

**Chapter I – Desperation.**

**Hello and I'm back with a new story. Yep, a new one. I know I keep on doing this, but I always have a habit of getting inspiration for a new story and end up losing interest and inspiration in my old ones. It's a possibility that I may get inspiration for those stories again, but to be honest I'm not making any promises.**

**Now word of warning this is a DARK, Dc Superheroes and Naruto Crossover. It will take a gritty look at the world and Naruto will see some pretty gruesome things. He will be a serious anti-hero that is willing to fight against heroes just as much as he is to fight alongside them.**

**So far, I have five arcs set out and these are.**

Arc I – Black Mask:

Chapters 1-5.

Arc II – The Court of Owls:

Chapters 6-10.

Arc III – Hunting Days:

Chapters 11-12/13?

Arc IV – Arkham Assault:

Chapters ?-?

Arc V – Deathstroke:

Chapters ?-?

**The chapter lengths of arc 3-5 are unknown as I'm still planning out the Court of Owls Arc, but besides Arkham Assault are pretty short will be no more than 2-3 chapters in length. Now I will be setting up a poll on whether this should be a harem story and it will be up for the remainder of Arc I and I would love to have people who have an understanding of the DC comics to provide me with your account name or email so that I can contact you with questions because right now, I'm pretty much using the Internet to find information.**

**Also, in this story Barbara Gordon (Batgirl) and Naruto are both sixteen with Dick Grayson being thirteen. Just to help clear up any problems you might have and begins a year before the Young Justice timeline begins, which will only follow Young Justice Season 1-2 before it diverges completely. However, there will be differences in the 2nd season.**

**Other than that, let the story begin.**

**Edit (29th June, 2020):**

**Right so I first want to say that I'm blown away by the amount of positive feedback I get on how I planned to go with this story in the future so thank you so much, it means a lot. Second, I will be naming this Book 1: A Journey's Beginning. A bit cliché but oh well, the title says exactly what this book is. It shows Naruto's journey and how he is first introduced to the wider DC world. **

**As you may have noticed, it is now a Batman comics crossover rather than a Young Justice crossover and that's because this takes place pretty much solely in Gotham with a few exceptions here and there. **

**Now for the future, these earlier chapters will follow the same thread as before with only a few grammatical changes here and there as well as improved dialogue, reading through parts of it I cringed at how bad some of it was so I'm definitely changing that.**

**Anyway let's begin.**

"Normal Speech."

_'Normal Thought.'_

**"Demon Speech."**

**_'Demon Thought.'_**

"Other Speech variants."

_Location/Time._

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Friday 2nd, January, 22:30._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_East End._

Gotham City, a city in America filled with crime and corruption around every corner. Once upon a time, the Crime Lords such as Salvatore Maroni and Carmine Falcone ran the city. People lived in fear knowing that no justice would come to those that lived outside of the laws jurisdiction.

The police took bribes from the various crime families and so the city stayed as a safe haven for those wanting to live a life of crime, and a living hell on earth to the good people of Gotham. That changed however, with the arrival of the now infamous caped crusader, the Batman.

A man dressed as a bat that prowled the streets of Gotham at night and punished those that committed crime. In the space of a few months since his arrival, the crime bosses that once ruled Gotham had their influence vastly reduced as the people of Gotham were finally given a symbol of hope to believe in. Some called him a vigilante, some a hero, but there was no denying that Batman was Gotham's Dark Knight.

Yet despite that, Gotham was still filled with crime. The cities criminal element having seemingly gotten smarter and more dangerous the longer and harder Batman fought against it.

It was for that reason that most people rarely ventured into the more run down parts of Gotham beyond a certain hour. Barbara Gordon, niece of the current Commissioner James Gordon was not one of those people. She was a beautiful young woman with red hair, green eyes and a figure that while still developing, drew the gaze of many men.

Still, Barbara ignored the leers and cat whistles that came her way, though she did speed up a little bit as she entered a large, rundown apartment building. On the way up, she moved past numerous men and women doing drugs and various over chemical substances before coming to a stop in front of room, 666.

Pulling out a small key, she unlocked the door and entered the apartment making sure to place her bag on the kitchen countertop and took a moment to look around. It was bare and it looked almost like no one lived here, if it wasn't for the dirty dishes in the sink and various magazines and other miscellaneous objects scattered around the room.

Her eyes did stall slightly as they looked at the few pictures on the walls, they were wonky and looked to be on the verge of falling off. Most where of her and Her childhood friend, Naruto and James as they grew up however, there were two that caught her eyes the most.

They were the smallest of the pictures, but they were by far the most important to her and to Naruto. Her parents had died when she was young, only five and while she didn't remember them very well, she did miss them. Other the course of the years she had lived in Gotham, James had become her father, but part of her had always wanted to know what it was like to have a mother.

But she did.

Naruto had been her childhood friend and his parents, Minato and Kushina had always treated her kindly. Minato was like the kind and fun uncle, while Kushina had been like a dotting mother to both her and Naruto.

There deaths had been difficult to bear, for everyone.

Moving forwards, Barbara twisted the pictures, one of Minato and Kushina at their wedding, both smiling happily in a small chapel and the other of tired but smiling Kushina, Minato and a sleeping baby Naruto.

Turning to the wall beside it, she took a deep breath having noticed the bloody handprint on the wall near the bedroom door. Pushing the door open she saw her childhood friend trying and failing to patch up the cut on his side.

Naruto was the same age as her, sixteen with shaggy blonde hair and the brightest shade of blue eyes she had ever seen. His face was slightly plump in the cheeks and while he was certainly in good shape, the muscles clearly defined there were still hints of fat here and there. Not that it distracted from him as he was in far better shape than most guys their age

Shaking her head, Barbara moved forward, unaffected by the handsome and half-naked teen in front of her. "It's honestly amazing that despite how many times you injure yourself, you're still hopeless when it comes to applying first aid." She said as she took the cloth filled with disinfectant and threw it into the bin, but not after shaking it in his face irritably. "Too much disinfectant, idiot."

"My bad." The blonde chuckled as they moved towards his unmade, single bed and sat down upon it as Barbara applied the correct amount of disinfectant and began dabbing his wounds. "Ow." He flinched away as he felt his wounds sting.

"Hush, you big baby." Barbara scolded him, a small frown of concentration on her face.

"It stings." The blonde protested. "You'd think that after the number of times I've injured myself, that I'd be used to it by now." Barbara said nothing as she meticulously applied a sterile plaster over the cut, but her frown deepened. She knew full well what he had been doing despite the various lies he told her about what he actually did.

When he was younger he had been sent to juvenile prison a number of times for stealing. He had stopped thankfully, only for Barbara to soon learn that he had started doing something far more dangerous, street fighting.

They were dangerous simply because there was no rules except no guns. And while weapons were frowned upon, there was a number of times that knives were pulled out and Naruto had the scars to prove it.

Pulling away, she gave his upper body a once over for anymore injuries, running her hand down a particularly nasty scar over his chest as she did so. "It's getting so difficult to tell the old cuts and bruises from the new ones." Barbara whispered, concern evident in her voice. "Why do you do this to yourself, Naruto? You know my dad offered you a home, you can come live with us."

Naruto simply smiled sadly and took her hand in his. "I can look after myself, besides I like it here." Barbara just stared him, not convinced in the slightest by his words.

"That'd be almost believable if it wasn't for the fact you've told me on numerous occasions that you hate it here and how you want to travel the world." She said, pulling away as the two moved into the main room, with Naruto going straight to the couch to watch TV while Barbara poured him a drink of water. "Here."

Naruto's hand shot up and caught the bottle of pills she threw at him before they hit his head. "What are these?" He asked while looking at the information printed on the side.

"You say you can look after yourself, but you're constantly working different jobs to try and pay rent, but for some reason always go to those street fights and come back looking like you've been put through a meat grinder." She moved forward and sat down beside him, giving him the glass of water. "They're painkillers. Things I've been telling you to buy, but you never do. So go on, take them."

"I will do." Naruto went to put the bottle down, but Barbara stopped him before he could. She made sure that with one hand she held the glass of water steady out towards him, while the other pushed his hand holding the bottle back towards him.

"I want to see you take the prescribed amount and you will take them." Naruto's eyes narrowed and Barbara's did the same.

"Tch." Clicking his teeth in annoyance, Naruto opened the bottle and downed two pills, making sure to take a large gulp of water to assist in swallowing the pills. "Happy?"

Barbara smirked and rested her head on the back of the sofa. "Very." The two sat in a comfortable silence as they listened to the sound of the TV playing. Neither saying anything as Barbara looked up at the ceiling, while Naruto found himself staring at Barbara.

She had always being his first friend. Ever since they were kids they had been the best of friends. Even after his parents died and had been moved to an orphanage, – one he kept on running from, including every foster home he was taken too – before eventually going out and living on his own, she had always being his best and only friend.

They were an odd pair.

Barbara, even when they were young, had always being kind and innocent. Always seeing the good in people and willing to befriend everyone. He had been much the same way until his parents died and after that, he locked himself away; but never from Barbara. She could be just as stubborn as him and she wasn't willing to leave him alone, even when he acted like an asshole to her for a little while. But Barbara stuck by him, able to see that Naruto was in pain and alone.

Even now, in Gotham Academy – a school he only just managed to get into because of a sports scholarship – Barbara was one of the most beautiful and popular people. Guys and girls lined up to be her friend and in the formers case, more than friends. Yet somehow, Barbara still wanted to be his friend, an orphan from Gotham's slums and Gotham Academy's very own delinquent.

Still, it didn't change the fact that she wasn't wrong, he was struggling. Money wasn't exactly easy to come by, especially around these parts, not without resorting to crime. Outside of the slums, it was even harder to find jobs because of the slums notoriously high crime rate, even with Batman interfering.

Every week he would be fired on some half-assed excuse by his bosses and he would have to find a new job to ensure he could pay rent, school tuition and make sure that he had food. Not to mention trying to pay off his parent's debt, which only seemed to be growing as he was constantly behind on payment.

And every single time he resorted to Gotham's Underground Fighting ring. A barely legal institution that had on many occasion being shut down by Batman, but would constantly appear a few months down the line due to Batman's attention being drawn to the chaos caused by Gotham's many supervillains.

He had been awful at it, usually going in to fight men twice his age with biceps the size of his head and each and every time he would be beaten within an inch of his life. But with every fight, he got better and better. He could react almost instantly to people's wild and untrained attacks and respond with brutal punches to carefully targeted weak points.

Was he a master fighter? Hardly. He simply knew how to use the basics with great efficiency. Most of his opponents fell into one of two categories, they were either all muscle and no skill, believing that just because they were buff that they could beat everyone. Or guys who had taken maybe one or two lessons and suddenly thought they were Bruce Lee.

To call him a master would be like saying, he hasn't thought of Barbara in a Batgirl costume re-enacting some of his more male driven fantasies.

Without meaning too, Naruto snorted in amusement at that thought. Yep, he definitely wasn't a master, but he sure as hell wouldn't go down without putting up a fight.

"What?" Barbara asked, her head turning to look at him and Naruto simply raised a brow in questioning. "You've been looking at me this entire time and you just snorted. Cute sound by the way."

"Welllll…" Naruto scratched his cheek, which were stained slightly red with a blush. "You're kind of distracting." Barbara sat up and stared at him, this time it was her that had one brow raised in questioning, though he was thankful to note that there was a small dusting of pink on her cheeks. "I-I mean, that well…your distracting, in, in a g-good way…" He trailed off with an embarrassed chuckle, while scratching that back of his head in embarrassment, an act that made Barbara smile at the familiar and adorable nervous tick.

"Distracting in a good way?" Barbara questioned with her smile widening as the blush on her cheeks darkened. Thankfully, she had turned away so he couldn't see or she'd be even more embarrassed.

"Yup." Naruto said as he leaned back in the sofa, turning to look out the window. It was then he noticed the time on the wall. "Eleven o'clock. Is your dad picking you up?"

Barbara shook her head. "No, I'm staying over at a friend's house tonight. We and a few others have been talking about having a sleep over for a while now and her mum will be here in a few minutes."

"Oh." Naruto hid the disappointment he felt at her leaving so soon after her arriving. "Have fun I guess." Barbara smiled, she too hiding the sadness she felt, hating having to lie to him about what she was really doing. But she couldn't tell him that she was going out and fighting crime as Batgirl, he'd act like Jim if he found out and freak out. Naruto had always being protective of her, trying to hide her from the harsh truth of the world and on numerous occasions had gotten into fights both in and out of school due to guys not understanding the meaning of 'no.'

It was equal parts flattering and frustrating because at times she felt like Naruto didn't trust her to protect herself. Yet at the same time she understood why he did it, as far as he was aware, she couldn't protect herself. He didn't know that she had any form of defence training besides that one time he taught her to punch when they twelve and she hadn't exactly told him otherwise.

"Yea, I will do." She responded, getting a more genuine smile from him, though it was still strained. "Try not to kill yourself this weekend."

"I'll try." He chuckled and Barbara took his hand in hers and gave it comforting squeeze before getting up and leaving.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Monday 12th, January, 07:58_

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_Gotham Academy._

Naruto walked calmly through the corridors of the prestigious school of Gotham Academy. A school that until recently, only catered to the richest and wealthiest families of Gotham City. That had changed when Bruce Wayne had begun supplying a sizeable, annual fee to the school under the condition they offer scholarships and reduce the tuition fee to those from poorer families.

It was a generous offer from the otherwise billionaire playboy, but one thing he had forgotten to take into account was the number of assholes that usually took up the vast majority of children that entered Gotham Academy.

Naruto himself, ignored the occasional jeer and insult that came his way from a bunch of jocks. That's all they did, insult him from afar. They had learned the lesson that you never start a fight or even invade Naruto's personal space and insult him at the same time. If you did, we'll let's just say you were more than likely to end up headfirst in a nearby wall.

Fights between Naruto and the jocks had been a common occurrence in his first year at the Academy. His very presence in the Academy and position as the only guy that Barbara Gordon had shown an ounce of interest in was a threat to their ego. It had gotten so bad that the teachers had threatened to expel Naruto and anyone who got involved in fights in school grounds, but all that did was mean that the fights usually took place outside of them.

However, that all changed when one particularly jock had come to the school the late having gotten drunk with his recently graduated friends and pulled a knife out on Naruto. That particular fight had ended with boy going to the hospital with numerous broken bones, fractures and dislocations. The teachers had to practically pry Naruto off the unconscious student.

It was safe to say that Naruto had sent the students of Gotham Academy a message that had destroyed any and all attempts of him trying to make friends. Not that he was interested in the first place, the struggle he had with affording everything meant he had barely any time spare. Though Barbara always found a way to make sure that they spent time together.

Entering the classroom, Naruto sat down at the desk and allowed his head to drop onto his crossed arms, intent on catching up on the sleep he had missed out on last night. That was his plan, but it was never to be as a hand slammed down onto his desk jolting him into an upright position.

"Barbara?" He questioned following the hand up to the face of his childhood friend. "What the hell?!"

"Class starts in a minute, be thankful I woke you up before the teacher does." She said haughtily, though both of them knew she was simply doing this as an act. "Besides, I needed to ask if you've done the work that was in for today, the work I specifically reminded you to do all week."

"Oh, shit." Naruto's head collapsed onto the desk. "Fuck. I forgot." He looked up and saw Barbara staring down at him, one hand on her hip that was cocked to the side, her face set into one of disappointment.

"Why do you do this to yourself, Naruto?" She asked. "I mean, we both know you're not the smartest guy, but you sure as hell can be determined and willing to learn. If you put half of the determination you have into beating up guys in a ring, then you sure as hell can be one of the top students in class. But you don't."

Naruto just sighed, rubbing his temples in an attempt to quell the impending headache he knew would come when the teacher came in. "Look, I've just been really busy, haven't had time to do the work."

Barbara shook her head and took a seat at her desk next to Naruto's. "He's gonna tear you a new asshole." She snarked and Naruto shot her a dirty look, which she returned by maturely sticking out her tongue.

"Yea, well he can shove it for all I care." Naruto scoffed, while crossing his arms. "He's a stuck up prick, maybe if he actually wasn't such an asshole I might actually be willing to learn some of the shit he teaches us." This earned a short laugh from Barbara.

He turned to look at her and raised one eyebrow in questioning. "Please, we both know that you hate school and the only reason you come is because I force you." She responded. "It wouldn't matter if he was a stuck up prick or not, if I didn't make you come to school, you wouldn't bother learning at all."

Naruto simply smirked at her. "Maybe, who knows." It was Barbara who raised one brow at him this time, obviously not convinced.

However, before she could say anything the door opened and in stepped the teacher. Something which made Naruto give her a smirk at getting the last word before she turned to listen as the teacher did a roll call. Naruto on the other hand, well he rested his head on the desk intent on catching up on some sleep.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Monday 12th, January, 15:00._

_New Jersey_

_Gotham City_

_Gotham Heights_

It was a nice day for a January, which resulted in large crowds of people bustling down the streets to get to their intended destinations. For the most part, everything was normal, a large change for the people of Gotham. No crime, no supervillain wreaking havoc upon the city. For all intents and purposes, it was calm.

Currently, Naruto and Barbara were walking through the crowds in their school uniforms and coats to keep wam, making their way towards Barbara's home. A usual routine for the two as Naruto would stop by at the Gordon household whenever he could. Thankfully, today Naruto had no shifts allowing him to spend time with Barbara, something they were both pleased with.

Laughing, Barbara clutched Naruto's left hand tightly in both of hers as he dragged her through the particularly large crowd of people. "Naruto! Slow down a bit!" He just shot her a cheeky grin over his shoulder and tugged her out of the crowd into a small backstreet that acted as a shortcut to Barbara's home.

"What's wrong, Barbie? Can't keep up?" He taunted and Barbara smacked him on the arm, getting him to mockingly rub his arm as if soothing the pain.

"Don't call me that, asshole." Despite this, neither could wipe the grin off their faces, never once letting go of each other's hand as they came out onto another street. It was still busy, but nowhere near as busy as Gotham Heights main street. "Still can't believe you got detention on your first day back after the Christmas Holidays."

"Yea, me either." He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Wasn't even trying to get detention, but that guy was being a dick." Barbara shook her head and stepped a little closer to Naruto.

"Yea, well try not to get anymore." Naruto just gave her his signature grin. "I'm being serious, Naruto."

"Yea, yea." He waved off her concerns. "I'll try my best, _mother. _No promises though."

"Whatever, not like I care." Barbara replied, sticking her nose in the air. Seeing this, Naruto jabbed her in the side with his free hand making her jump away with a yell of shock, only to slip and fall to the ground.

Naruto burst out laughing as Barbara stared at him in shock before her eyes narrowed, slowly and menacingly raising to the ground. Though her messed hair, red cheeks and the smile that twitching of her mouth as she tried to quell her own smile greatly diminished the look.

"Naruto!" Continuing to laugh, Naruto raised his hands up in mock surrender as the occasional person walking by either smiled or rolled their eyes at the two students. "Stop laughing! This isn't funny, you jerk!" She smacked him hard in the arm, but this only had the opposite affect as they finally continued their walk back to Barbara's home, with the young girl finally joining him in laughing.

Finally calming down, Naruto wiped a tear from his eye and looked to see his friend smiling while looking ahead. "I'm sorry, how you feeling?" He finally apologised, reaching over to wrap one arm over her shoulders. At an impressive height of 5"9, Naruto was over five inches taller than Barbara's own 5"4 and so her head quite easily and comfortably tucked into his chest.

"I'm fine, a little sore from where I landed, but nothing life threatening." Naruto nodded his head, as Barbara felt her cheeks darken at the fact Naruto showing concern for her over the simplest of things. It was sweet and was just who Naruto was, he may not make friends easily, but those he did have he was very loyal too.

Slowly, she closed her eyes, trusting Naruto to make sure that she didn't walk into something as she leaned closer into him.

"Good, good. Wouldn't want that now would we?" He asked rhetorically as they walked in a comfortable silence. That was, until Naruto tensed up as he noticed two well-dressed men leaning against a building, smoking and watching him and Barbara intently. He looked down and noticed that Barbara had looked up, having felt him tense up.

"What's wrong?" She asked worriedly, her eyes scanning the area. Instantly her senses honed by Batgirl picked up on the same two men Naruto had. They may not be looking in their direction, having noticed Naruto staring right at them, but they may have well as being wearing a neon sign saying, 'We're wannabe gangsters.'

"It's nothing." He gave a reassuring smile, but while Barbara outwardly pretended that she bought it, inwardly she knew that this had to do with the part of Naruto's life he kept secret from even her. "Can you, erm." He looked round and his eyes landed on a small coffee shop just a few buildings back the way they came. "Can you wait for me in that coffee shop, while I make sure that I'm not just being paranoid?"

Barbara frowned, wanting nothing more than to help Naruto, but at the same time, not willing to give him any clues about her life as Batgirl. "It's probably nothing, I can come with –"

"No!" He quickly interjected, his voice louder and more forceful than he had intended, if the look on his face was anything to go by. "No." He repeated much calmer and gentler, than before. "No, I'll go myself, it's like you said, probably nothing and I'd really like some coffee. So why don't you get us something to drink, while I just settle my nerves?"

"But…" She cut herself off this time as she watched Naruto's tense frame become even tenser, his eyes narrowing as his stubborn nature reared its head. Barbara felt her own stubborn nature also rise, but beat it down into submission and narrowed her eyes right back at him. "Fine."

Crossing her arms, Barbara turned on her heels and stopped at the entrance to the coffee shop, checking the board outside with a list of all the prices. Well, that's what it looked like, but actually she watched as Naruto stared at her for a few moments before continuing to walk the way they were heading and pulling into a back alley. The guys she had been watching, waited until Naruto passed them, putting out their cigarettes and following after her blonde friend.

Taking in a deep breath, Barbara fought internally with herself on whether she should go and help her childhood friend before deciding to trust him. If it came to a fight she knew he would be alright, he had taken out bigger and badder guys than those two thugs.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Monday 12th, January, 15:15._

_New Jersey_

_Gotham City_

_Gotham Heights_

Naruto came to a stop in a small alleyway, his eyes locked onto the three walls surrounding him, the onto way out being the way he had just come. Turning around, he faced the two thugs that rounded into the alleyway at the same time, their frames filling the only exit in a poor attempt at intimidation.

"Nowhere to go now, kid." The tall lanky one on the right said, his hands shoved into his pockets. Naruto scoffed and folded his hands across his chest and allowed the two thugs to try and poorly invade his personal space. But it was obvious that as they got closer they realised that he wasn't just some skinny kid.

At the height of 5"9 and a build of a professional American Football player, Naruto cut a far more intimidating figure than a tall lanky man and his fat partner. And the blonde used this to his advantage by stepping up into their own personal space and officially showing them how to really intimidate someone.

It worked as the two men grit their teeth, as they took a step back. "If you're gonna try and intimidate someone, make sure that you actually know what your doing next time." Naruto snarked, a smug smirk on his face that disappeared into a blank mask as the fat thug pulled out a gun and pointed it right at Naruto's face.

"You think you intimidate us, you little shit!" He shouted out, spit coming out of his mouth.

"Calm down, T-Dog." The lanky and obviously smarter man of the pair said sternly.

"T-Dog?" Naruto questioned with a chuckle, wiping the spit that had landed on his face. "That's a real black name for a white guy." This only made 'T-Dog' snarl even more, his gun slowly lowering to point at the ground. "So what's you want?"

"You know exactly why we're here." T-Dog snarled and Naruto simply smirked at him before turning to face the more reasonable of the two.

"Your late on your payment." He answered, ignoring his near rabid partner. "The boss wants payment in full by the end of the day." Naruto tensed up. "Or we'll look for over ways to get the money."

_'Shit!'_ Naruto cursed internally. _'Fuck! I thought I had longer, he usually lets me have an extra week if I'm late. Why the fuck is he changing it up now?! I don't have the cash to pay him yet and there's no fights today, the next ones are tomorrow!'_ He never allowed any of his internal conflict to show on his face as his blue eyes bore into the lanky mans own brown eyes, who soon began to shift uncomfortably.

"Here that, you little shit!" T-Dog spat out. "Pay up by the end of the day or maybe we and a few boys might pay a visit to your little girlfriend and break her in a little. Pretty sure the boss would be glad to have babe like her as a prostitute on his payroll. What you think, maybe he'll be kind enough and just fuck her himself."

Naruto's eyes zeroed in on the fat man, his blood boiling as his heart pounded in his ears. _'This fat fucker dares!'_ His fists clenched at his side.

"It'd be unfortunate, but the boss did say we have to make the money up in other ways and there are plenty of guys out there who would love to get a piece of ass like that." The fat one continued, completely oblivious of Naruto's rising anger.

_'I'll fucking kill him!'_ His fist shot out quicker than either of the two thugs could react and collided with T-Dog's face and there was sickening crunching sound that signalled his nose had been broken. Even then, as the fat man fell backwards into the wall clutching his bleeding face and crying out in pain, Naruto's leg went with with the momentum and crushed the man's head against the wall.

Now, this wasn't the movies where the man's head would split open like a grape. But his skull did cave in, pieces of bone piercing the man's brain killing him instantly as he slumped to the floor, a bloody stain left behind on the wall.

Meanwhile, the lanky man fumbled to get his gun out, but Naruto stepped into the man guard and landed five consecutive punches to his stomach, followed by a vicious uppercut that sent them to the ground unconscious. When all was said and done, Naruto stood their breathing heavily in an attempt to calm his anger.

It took everything he had not to kill the second guy, but he knew that if he killed both of them their boss would take this as an act of rebellion. That was not what Naruto wanted at all.

Once he had sufficiently calmed down, he exited the street and noticed that no one had stopped to pay attention to what had gone on down in the alley. It was to e expected really, even with Batman, people still followed the old rules put in place by the crime bosses. Keep your nose out of their business and don't play the hero or you get killed.

"Naruto!" He looked to the left and saw Barbara walking towards him with two cups of coffee in her hand.

"Barbara!" He replied and moves towards her, taking his cup of coffee from her hands with a thank you.

"Are you okay?"

"Yea, I'm fine. Just me being patronised after all." He answered with a smile and a short laugh, Barbara smiled at him. "Shall we cross the street?"

"Okay." She nodded her head, though once Naruto turned away her smile grew small as she spared a glance to the alleyway Naruto had just come out of.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Tuesday 13th, January, 22:16_

_New Jersey_

_Gotham City_

_Location Unknown_

His breathing was heavy. His heart beat pounding in his ears. His blood pumping throughout his body as adrenaline filled every cell of his body. Sweat and blood fell from his body as he moved on pure instinct. This was who he was; this was what he lived for. The rush one gained as they fought against a strong opponent.

Naruto ducked underneath a wild hook and parried numerous jabs and crosses from his opponent with practised ease. His blonde hair displaced by the air produced by the force of each punch of his opponent, his blonde eyes alight with childlike excitement and a confident smirk on his face as he easily responded with a palm strike to his opponent's solar plexus.

Hopping backwards to put some space between him and his opponent, Naruto calmly bounced on his toes. Never once stopping to catch his breath as he allowed the adrenaline to keep him standing.

His opponent on the other hand – a large bulky man with some measure of skill and fighting experience from his boxing background – stumbled backs, almost dry heaving as a result of Naruto's devastating strike. While the fight had lasted no longer than ten minutes, it had mostly consisted of Naruto on the defensive, allowing his opponent to exhaust himself and occasionally responding with devastating counter attacks.

And it showed.

Naruto besides the sweat and blood – his opponents, not his own – was completely unharmed. His opponent on the other hand was equally sweaty with busted lip, broken nose, swollen left eye and bruises forming around his stomach.

Despite, the man's experience and background in boxing, Naruto had taken numerous moves he had seen from videos on YouTube and the instincts he had honed from his many fights to create an entirely unique style. It was wild and unpredictable, with no set pattern making it very difficult to defend and counter against. That, plus Naruto's greater speed and stamina compared to his opponents strength gave Naruto the ultimate fighting edge.

The fight had ended before it even began, just like every fight Naruto took part in. He had been fighting his entire life and knew his own limitations and constantly strove to surpass them. His opponent on the other hand was looking for some quick cash.

He had never come across an opponent that was like him. Someone who fought for a living and it almost made him desperate to test himself against the likes of Batman, Batgirl and Robin to see how he stacked and how far he had to go. But he wouldn't, it was stupid as neither of the three would spare the time to fight a fan and the only way to get them to fight him would be to commit a crime big enough to warrant their attention.

His opponent charged forward and Naruto would give him props for his self-control, it was obvious he was getting annoyed by the blondes smirk and nonchalant defence, yet he never let his anger cloud his judgement.

"And Tony charges in once more!" The crowd cheered loudly, but Naruto paid them nor the commentator any mind. "What will our champion do against this never ending onslaught by the newcomer?"

Naruto's smirk widened as he reached his opponent and this time, instead of repeating his defensive stance, he instead leaped into the air. Caught off guard by this sudden change in pattern by the blonde, his opponent only managed to raise a hasty guard that broke easily under the powerful roundhouse kick that slammed into it.

The force behind it not only broke the guard, but sent Tony to the floor. However, he masterfully rolled to his feet, mitigating the damage he took. This was for naught as Naruto was upon him in an instant with a fast and dangerous onslaught of punches and kicks. There was no fancy flips, just straight up powerful punches and kicks that tore down every defence Tony could put up and dealt ever increasing amounts of damage to the burly boxers body before he eventually was sent careening to the the ground unconscious.

"And there we have it!"The commentator screamed into his microphone. "While the newcomer put up a good fight, it was not enough to overcome our undefeated champion, Naruto!" He could hear the cheers of those who had no doubt bet on him to win and even see a few grumbling as they had no doubt bet against him. But Naruto cared very little, he was getting paid either way.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Tuesday 13th, January, 22:45_

_New Jersey_

_Gotham City_

_Location Unknown_

Rolling his shoulder, Naruto walked out of his changing rooms in pair of jogging pants and a plain, white t-shirt, with a bag slung over his shoulder. His blonde hair was still wet and not as wild as it usually was, it still drying from the shower he had just taken.

He passed a few of the female servers, scantily clad as part of tonight's additional entertainment. He ignored the way their eyes roamed over his figure as even though some of them were old enough to be his mother and he was only sixteen, it was nothing more than a number to them.

"Naruto!" The young boy in question, looked up to see the owner/commentator for Gotham's Underground Fighting Arena. "How are you, my boy?" He was a sleazy looking man in his forty with his black hair already greying in places.

"I'm doing good, John." Naruto replied shortly, never really liking the man for the way he had a habit of picking young and helpless girls off the streets and forcing them into prostitution. The thought made him remember the threat the two thugs had made towards Barbara earlier and it made him clench his fists in anger.

"Good, good." He pulled out an envelope and held it out for Naruto to take. "Five thousand, for your most impressive showing tonight." Just as Naruto went to take the envelope, John pulled it away. "You know, I would be willing to double, no triple this amount every time you fought, if you would work for me. It'd be far more profitable for both of us and far more stable."

Naruto stared at the man who was trying his best to convince him for what must be the hundredth time and poorly. "I'm honoured and thank you for the offer, but I'm gonna have to decline." While John frowned, he none the less handed him the envelope again and this time when Naruto went to take it, John didn't pull it away.

After a quick check of the envelopes contents, Naruto gave John a smile. "Pleasure doing business with ya', John." He said before walking out of the building.

"As long as you keep winning me money, kid!" John called back and Naruto raised his hand in a short wave, never looking over his shoulder.

The walk to his apartment was short and not many people were out. No doubt due to the Joker and Harley Quinn currently on the loose with Batman hot on their tail. Everyone was waiting for something to happen, even the criminals and gangs kept their heads bowed down when the Joker was on the loose. There was a reason he was called the Clown Prince of Crime because everyone, even the hardest and most terrifying criminals were scared of the unpredictable element that was the Joker.

Quickly making it too his apartment, Naruto pulled out his key and as he tried to slot it into the keyhole, only for the door to open on its own.

Looking up and down the corridor, Naruto turned back to the door and pushed it open. It was dark, no surprise the sun hardly ever got into his room. "Barb, you in there?" Naruto called out, cautiously stepping into his apartment. "Barbara if this is a joke it ain't funny." He put his bag down on where he knew his kitchen counter would be and clenched his fists. "Seriously Barbara, I swear to god if you're gonna jump out at me, I'm gonna pissed."

"I can assure you, I'm not Barbara Gordon." A deep, masculine voice calmly responded.

Naruto reached out to his light switch and flicked it on, his eyes squinting at the sudden light, but it did not stop him from seeing the figure sat in his chair like he owned the place. He was a tall man, with a slightly busy figure wearing a well-tailored suit designed to fit him snugly and make him look bigger. But the more surprising thing about him was that were his head should be, was a black skull.

"Black Mask." Naruto whispered, fear evident in his voice as he took a step back. Naruto feared very few things, but Black Mask was one such thing. Ever since his father died when he was seven, leaving just him and his mother, Black Mask would constantly come round. The things he said and what Naruto learned of Black Mask from Jim, had left a deep rooted fear in the child Naruto and while it had lessened over time. Naruto couldn't deny that Black Mask would always be someone he was scared of.

"Hello Naruto." Black Mask said calmly, never once moving from his seated position. "Why don't we have a little chat like old times?" Before Naruto could do anything he felt a bat collide with the backs of his knees sending him to the ground before something else hit his head.

For a second he saw stars as he collapsed to the ground, his head spinning, barely registering the kicks that collide with his ribs. Meanwhile, Black Mask watched the beating unfold before his eyes with a calm indifference.

"That's enough boys, we don't want to kill him." Instantly the beating stopped as Naruto moaned pitifully on the ground, slowly rolling onto his side as he clutched his ribs in pain.

"Now." Getting out his chair, Black Mask walked towards Naruto and with his foot, rolled the blonde onto his back. "You've disobeyed me, Naruto. I'm usually quite lenient with you because I've known you ever since you were a little kid, but you've forgotten the fact that I own you."

Naruto groaned in pain as he felt his ribs protest under the pressure Black Mask foot applied to them.

"But you see, I'm getting quite annoyed with you constantly being late on your payment. At first you were always on time, but recently it's being a constant thing with you and I can't understand why?" Black Mask looked to his thugs. "Can you tell me why?"

"No, boss." One of them replied.

"See." Black Mask leaned down. "I own you Naruto and its all because your parents incurred quite a lot of debt from me. Now I was quite happy to pay off the debt when your dear mummy was alive if she did me a few…favours." The drawl he used when saying 'favours' left no doubt in anyone's mind in what he meant. "But she didn't, she stayed loyal to her dead husbands memory and as a result died, leaving you to pay off their debt."

"Now I like you, kid. You got some serious fucking balls on you." Black Mask chuckled. "Hard as fucking nails as well, I don't know many people who can take a beating like you just did and still stay conscious."

Naruto said nothing, just glaring into Black Mask's eyes, the hatred he felt for the crime Lord at the thought of him trying to get his mother outweighing his fear.

"But my patients has run out." His foot lashed out and kicked Naruto in the face sending it wiping to the side, blood splattering across the ground. "You have not only being late on your payments for the last six months, but then you have the fucking balls to kill one of my men." Black Mask snarled out, his hand pulling out a Bowie knife. "Now, mind you they were out of line threatening our dear old _Commissioners _daughter and I can understand that you felt the need to protect your girlfriend." His voice was almost gentle and understanding, Black Mask's thugs looked at one another in confusion in where their boss was going with this.

That changed when Black Mask drove the Bowie knife through one of Naruto's hands, pining him to the ground. A scream of pain tore from Naruto's lips, tears piling at the corners of his eyes, but it did not stop him from lashing out at his attacker.

Black Mask stumbled back into two his thugs, who caught their boss as a result of a punch that collided against his face.

Rubbing his face, Black Mask chuckled as he watched his three other thugs kicking the downed Naruto, occasionally swinging their bats down onto him. "That's enough." He ordered sternly.

"I tell you what, kid. You've got one mean right hook." He chuckled once more. "But you won't do that again or I'll kill you." Naruto said nothing, just curling back into a ball to try and protect himself once more.

"You gotta earn my forgiveness, triple the monthly rate by next month." Black Mask did a show of doing internal math. "That's forty-five thousand the next exact month after you get out of hospital. You fail, my thugs come back here beat you up and then we rape your little girlfriend in front of you, Commissioners daughter or not. You don't fuck." He kicked Naruto in the stomach once more. "With Black Mask."

Stepping back, and readjusting his blazer, Black Mask looked down at Naruto. "Boys, teach him a lesson." Walking towards the kitchen counter, Black Mask opened Naruto's bag and pulled out the cash inside, handing it to one of the thugs who followed him. Then the two left the apartment, not even paying attention to the sounds of the beating going on behind them.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Tuesday 13th January, 23:30._

_New Jersey, _

_Gotham City,_

_Gotham City Hospital._

Commissioner James Gordon entered the hospital room with a weary heart. The wrinkles he had developed over his long and stressful life becoming more pronounced as he took in the state of the two occupants.

The first and worse was Naruto Uzumaki, the child of his friend Minato Namikaze and his wife Kushina Uzumaki. He had watched the boy grow up into the young man he was and had on numerous occasions tried to take custody of the boy, but for someone to always put a stop to it for reasons unknown to him.

_'Minato, Kushina.'_ He thought sorrowfully of his two deceased friends as he watched their son cling to life in a hospital bed with the repetitive beeping of the heart monitor filling the room. _'If only I had thought harder for custody of your son, this could have been avoided, I could have done something.'_ Now usually, James was a man who was in great control of his emotions, he had to be due to his job and his unorthodox ally, Batman. But seeing a young man he viewed as a son in this state filled him with an all consuming rage.

This rage was only fanned by the memory of what Barbara had been like when she had seen and heard of Naruto's state. She had been inconsolable, crying until she had no tears to spend and eventually falling asleep clutching his hand. He himself had stood to one side, unable to do anything to help ease a girl that he viewed as his daughter and Naruto's suffering.

Pulling out his phone he dialled a number, waiting for the person on the other end to pick up. "Bullock." James said shortly. "I need you to run a background check on Naruto Uzumaki, Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. I want to know everyone they had contact and dealings with. Use your underground contacts if need be, but I want to know everything." He didn't wait for confirmation or the questions that would surely be asked and hung up.

Sighing, James rubbed his eyes tiredly and moved towards his sleeping daughter who was fast asleep. Taking off his jacket, he wrapped it around Barbara's shoulders who, mumbled in her sleep.

**A/N: And that's the first chapter and opening to my new story. It introduces Naruto and develops a complex character background for him, with mentions to his parents. It also helps to establish the relationship that Barbara and Naruto have and that will be a key part of Naruto's life. **

**Once again, a quick reminder than anyone with great knowledge on the DC universe, could you drop me an email or your account name so that I can get into contact with you should I have questions. Which I will have, mainly as the story gets into more depth.**

**Other than that, hope you enjoyed the first chapter, please drop me a review to let me know what you liked, didn't liked and what I can do to make it better. Also let me know if you have any questions or suggestions for possible storylines to incorporate into my own.**

**Edit:**

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter, not much changed about it except for some more mentions of Minato and Kushina as well as the relationship Barbara has with them. Which is something I didn't do last time round and considering that in later chapters I mention them a bit more, it is definitely something I should have included in the first place or something I should have gone back to rectify but I didn't, so here we are. Anyway, the next chapter will be out this Friday and this will continue up until we get to chapter fourteen, where I will then go back to my old schedule of**** updating every fortnight.**

**Not ideal, I know, but this way you get to refresh yourself on the earlier chapters before getting to the newer stuff. **


	2. Chapter II - The Beginning

**Injustice: The Path to Hell.**

**Book 1: A Journey's Beginning.**

**Chapter II – The Beginning**

**A/N: A lot of you are confused as to why I deleted all the previous chapters I had written. That's because it makes it easier for me to know which of my newly edited chapters I have uploaded so that's why I've done that. Also, don't worry there will be changes in some of the chapters. Most will be just improved grammar and dialogue however, some especially next chapter will have improved and lengthened fight scenes. You don't have to read them and can decide to wait till where up to date and if so that's okay, you do that. **

**For example, I've added a few scenes in the Batman/Batgirl vs False Face Society as well as improved on the Robin vs Black Hood fight next chapter. Same with the Batman/Batgirl vs Clayface and the Black Hood vs Deadshot fight scene on the final chapter of this arc. **

**Other fight scenes will be improved so please give them a look and let me know what you think. I know me deleting these chapters isn't what you wanted, but again it makes it easier for me to know which ones I have and haven't uploaded. Hopefully you can understand.**

**Also, I'm not sure if you're aware but there is some problems with the site as a whole. I can read your reviews in my emails, but for some reason there not registering on the sight. So, if you have any questions about this chapter or last and I didn't answer, I apologise. If that is the case, please put the same question and the keep doing that until this shit gets sorted out. **

**Otherwise I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

"Normal Speech."

_'__Normal Thought.'_

**"****Demon Speech."**

**_'_****_Demon Thought.'_**

_Location/Time_

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Monday 16__th__, February, 20:15._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_East End._

The apartment complex that was home to one Naruto Uzumaki was quiet. It usually was at this time of night. Its inhabitants leaving to enjoy the nightlife of Gotham as soon as the sun went down. Most were poor and had to work over the weekends to afford a night out and sometimes bring home a prostitute off the street.

Coming to a stop outside Naruto's door, Barbara leaned the semi-conscious young man against the wall, one of his arms over her shoulder for support as she struggled to open the door. Just as soon as she managed to get the key she looked to one side to see a particularly obese man walking down the corridor with a prostitute on either arm. He was loud and boisterous as he talked about all the things he would do to them and she struggled to keep the bile from rising up her throat at the mental image he painted.

He was very thorough in his descriptions, too much in fact.

She had heard similar things aimed at her alter ego, Batgirl from the various thugs, random guys on the streets and even at her school. It had always made her uncomfortable, but she had managed to build up a resistance to such things.

"Alfie!" Naruto groaned out loudly, making the obese man stop at the door and turn to face Naruto who had stood up a bit straighter. If Barbara didn't know any better she would say that he hadn't just gotten released from hospital. But she did, she could see the way he was leaning against the wall slightly for support, his arm around her was tighter and his eyes would twitch as he withheld a grimace of pain at the slightest of movement.

"Naruto, you're out already?" He barked out with a laugh, his fat stomach jiggling as the two prostitutes looked on in disgust at the men they were being paid to sleep with. "Look at you, goddamn nothing seems able to keep you down for long."

"You know me, Alfie." Naruto shrugged his shoulders and turned his grimace into a short smirk as to not show any discomfort. "Just try and keep your noise down a bit, I don't want to know what you're going to be using your dick for, it's an image I could do without."

Alfie smirked as his eyes roamed over Barbara's body clad in her school outfit as if just noticing her for the first time. "Oh I see." His smirk turned lecherous as he looked at Naruto once more. "I'll leave you two kids to it then. Come on ladies, daddies got an itch that needs scratching." With that he continued down the corridor and straight past Naruto and Barbara.

As he was doing so, Barbara opened the door to Naruto's apartment and helped him inside, switching on the main light and leading him to the sofa. "I'm sorry about, Alfie. I've kinda gotten used to him so I forget just how bad he can be."

Barbara shakes her head. "It's alright, Naruto." She sat down and Naruto slowly joins her, his head resting in her lap as he sprawls out over the rest of the sofa. "I could care less about what he has to say, I could just do without the mental image."

"Yea." He snorts, eyes closed as he enjoys the feeling of Barbara's hands running through his hair and massaging his scalp. "Alfie's like that. He's got a very detailed imagination and likes to share it with everyone." A hard look comes over his face, his cerulean eyes opening to reveal them flashing a dangerous dark blue. "I didn't like the way he looked at you though."

"Neither did I." Barbara said, her left hand moving down to stroke his cheeks to help calm him down. The last thing he needed was to make his injuries worse by allowing his anger to get the best of him. "But I know that'd you save me should he try anything." She smiled down at him, trying to ease the tension in Naruto.

"Yea, you're right." Naruto replied. "If he or anyone touched you in a way that you didn't want I'd do more than just make them back off." He muttered darkly, his voice so quiet she almost struggled to hear, but she heard him anyway.

"I know you would." She whispered back and he looked at her in shock, as if surprised she heard him. When he realised that she had, his head looked away in shame at revealing his more darker thoughts to her. "But I don't think we should be thinking about that anymore. How are you feeling?"

"I'm good. In a few more days I should back to normal." A lie. They both knew it, his injuries may have healed, but he would be feeling twinges of pain for a couple more months and if he overworked them then there was a high chance he could go back to square one again.

"Okay, good." Barbara watched as Naruto's eyes closed, his breath evening out as sleep soon claimed him.

Her eyes then turned to look out the window. The incident a month ago that put Naruto in the hospital was a mystery to both her, her uncle and even Batman. All they knew that it was linked to one of the many criminal gangs in Gotham and there too many for answers to be found instantly. That didn't make it any easier for her, especially since Naruto was being very tightlipped about what happened. Not even Jim, a man Naruto trusted and loved as if he was his own father could get the blonde to describe his attacker.

Every time the answer was always the same. He entered his apartment, was his hit in the back of the head and then beaten within an inch of his life. The next thing he knew he was waking up in the hospital.

Feeling her phone vibrating in her pocket she pulled it out to see that the caller ID was one, Dick Grayson. "Hey, Dick. What'd you need?" There was gibberish from the other end of the line. "Okay, does Bruce need me there?" She waited once more. "No, that's okay. Ring me if anything comes up that needs my help."

Turning off her phone, Barbara put it back in her pocket and slowly leaned back into the sofa. Gotham City was a city filled with crime and crime never rested.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Tuesday 17__th__, February, 11:15._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_East End._

The next morning saw Naruto slowly opening his eyes, desperately trying to fall back asleep and resist the shining glare of the Suns ray's upon his face. However, like every morning, the sun could not be denied and with a groan – a mix of pain and tiredness – he rose into a sitting position, slowly rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Morning." Looking to the left, Naruto saw Barbara moving towards him with a smile on her face and a steaming cup of coffee held carefully in both hands. She was dressed in pair of shorts she had left behind a couple of weeks ago and one of his jumpers which was far too big for her.

These moments were the ones he loved most, the sight of her when he woke up. It was no secret to anyone that knew Naruto about his feelings for Barbara except, for the girl herself it seemed. But it was moments like these, where they acted like a mature, older couple that made him want a normal life. Thought with his life how it was, he doubted that would happen for a very long time.

Black Mask had made it very clear last night that he 'owned' Naruto and by extension everything Naruto took as his own. Naruto would not put Barbara at risk or anyone so long as Black Mask was still around.

_'__Then I'll just have to get rid of him.' _Shaking those thoughts from his mind, he turned his full attention back Barbara. "Morning." He greeted a smile of his own appearing on his face. Reaching forwards, he took the cup of coffee from her hands and lightly blew on it. "How long have you been up?"

Barbara made her way back to the countertop and picked up her own cup of coffee, her fifth already. "Since nine, I was going to wake you up because it's getting late." Naruto looked to clock and saw that it displayed a time of, _11:30. _

"Damn." He cursed, he hadn't realised he had been so tired.

"It's to be expected, Naruto." Barbara sat down beside him as Naruto put the News on as it described how Batman, Robin and Batgirl had taken down a large drug cartel in Gotham last night with large amounts of gunfire being heard a few miles from this apartment complex. "Realistically the doctors said you should spend another week in the hospital just to be safe. You refused and then had to do a lot of walking, which didn't help with your recovery."

Barbara quickly switched the channels not wanting Naruto to focus on that anymore. She hadn't been at her best last night and had been unnecessarily violent in her takedowns of criminals. The fact that it was so close to where Naruto lived and the reminder of what had happened to him had been enough to make her take a much more violent approach than usual.

Something both Batman and Robin had picked up on, the former deciding to forced her to retire for the evening in order to cool off. Something Barbara had done so reluctantly and only because of how late in the morning it was becoming.

Naruto clicked his teeth in annoyance. "Yea, you're right." He said and saw the smug smile coming across Barbara's face. "You're lucky you're holding a cup of coffee in your hands right now because I'd attack you."

"Are you sure it's not just because you're a cripple?" She asked teasingly, making sure to take a loud sip of her coffee to add extra effect to her statement.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at her, but this only served to make Barbara's smile widen behind her cup. "Don't push it." Laughing, Barbara got to her feet and moved to collect her phone that was on charge as Naruto watched her do so, his mind playing over the events that had happened.

That night was reminder to Naruto that no matter how strong he thought he had gotten, it was all because Black Mask allowed him to. The crime lord amused himself by letting Naruto struggle, it had been he that stopped Jim from taking custody of Naruto, the man had all but admitted it a year ago just to taunt Naruto.

Then, when Naruto had started to grow old enough, took Naruto to the Underground Fighting Arena and watched him fight. He could still remember Black Mask praise him for surviving all the while Naruto struggled to breathe after the beating he had gotten.

Black Mask had been a constant at the beginning, always turning up to watch Naruto fight and get beaten. It was his favourite thing to watch, like comedy TV for him. And while terrified of Black Mask, the young Naruto's has strove to prove him wrong, to deny the crime lord who abused him the one thing he took pleasure out of.

Eventually, after many months of getting beaten into the ground, Naruto started to do just that. He won his first fight, then his second and his third till eventually he was the reigning champion, unbeaten in other forty fights. Around the tenth Black Mask lost interest and left.

However, despite all that, Naruto was never free. Black Mask was always there, a shadow over his shoulder just waiting for the moment to remind Naruto as to who was in charge. It had happened a few times before, yet none had ever been that bad before. Most times it was just a simple sharing of words and thinly veiled threats to everyone Naruto cared for. Others it had been a quick beating, something Naruto could pass off as a simple rough match.

Last night could not be classified as that. The doctors had claimed that it was a miracle he survived, obviously Black Mask's goons had gone a little overboard.

_'__I refuse to let that continue anymore.'_ Naruto thought, his hand clenching into fists as he watched Barbara scroll through her phone, humming a small tune. _'I refuse to let Black Mask control my life anymore.'_ His life would be his own and Barbara would no longer be a tool for Black Mask to keep him in line. _'I'll protect you, I'll protect Jim. Even if that means leaving you and becoming something else.'_

Batman.

Robin.

Batgirl.

They weren't heroes.

Heroes were meant to protect people no matter what. They were meant to ensure that guys like Black Mask couldn't force people to do their bidding. Heroes were meant to make sure that people like Black Mask were dealt with.

And they hadn't.

They were put in jail for a couple of months and they were back out, free to do what they wanted again. How could one claim to be a hero when they only put people in jail, all that did was give them chance to recover and grow stronger. It didn't stop anything or anyone, all it did was enable crime to grow stronger.

Well not anymore. Black Mask, Maroni, Falcone. All of them. Every criminal in Gotham City would no longer be given a beating and a slap on the wrist like Batman and the rest of the so called 'heroes' gave them. It was a kill or be killed world and to kill someone, you must first be prepared to be killed in return.

Naruto had already faced death, it was time the criminals of Gotham City did the same. And he would be the one to give it to them.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Thursday 26__th__, February, 23:00._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_East End._

Barbara Gordon hummed a tune to herself quietly as she sat at upon the couch just adding the finishing touches to her assignment due in tomorrow. The only sound besides her humming was the sound of the TV playing in the background and the sound of the shower coming from the bathroom.

The week had been relatively simple, almost normal as she and Naruto fell back into the routine of things. Naruto for all intents and purposes had become his usual self, sure he still had moments where some of his injuries flared with pain, but they were far and few between. It was a great relief to Barbara, who for the first time had truly been terrified of losing her best friend. Not even any of his older injuries had been this bad, for the first time she had faced the fact that her best friend might die and her heart clenched painfully at the thought.

_"__In other news, reports have come in from all over the city at the rise of a new vigilante that the people of Gotham are calling, Black Hood."_ The news reporter, a elderly woman wearing a business outfit informed the populace of Gotham. Beside her, on the screen, a blurred image of what appeared to be the figure of a man wearing all black clothing with a hood pulled obscuring his face from the camera completely. _"He was reported to be seen fighting numerous gangsters belonging to the criminal known as Black Mask. This has been the third sighting of him and the police encourage the people Gotham to come forth with any knowledge they might have on this vigilante."_

"What they on about?" Barbara turned around to see Naruto leaning against the doorframe in a white muscle shirt and shorts as he looked at the screen in confusion.

He had actually not really been focused upon the TV nor anything really, but Barbara. The blonde had always known that he had feelings for the girl and just seeing her here, in his room, so relaxed and unbothered by the day's events had really driven home how much he cared for her.

How much he wanted to keep her safe.

Yet he knew, that keeping her safe would be much harder than simply hiding her from the world. Gotham wasn't a place for someone as good as her, the city was a place where innocence went to die. The fact that Barbara and people his age was still innocent was a point in Batman and his Bat families favour. But criminals needed to be shown that their actions had consequences and Naruto knew that they would never cross that line.

_'__Sometimes, the world doesn't need another hero.'_ He thought back to something the elderly man, Hiruzen that used to live next door to him before passing away, he had been kind and had practically helped Naruto live and had also taught him various martial arts. '_What it needs, is a monster.'_ He smiled ruefully, becoming a monster to keep the criminals in line isn't exactly something he had planned to be doing, but if no one else was going to do it, then he would, for Barbara.

Always for Barbara.

"Nothing much, just a new vigilante." Barbara shook her head with a frown as Naruto moved to sit down next to her. "He's been called Black Hood."

"You don't approve?" Naruto questioned with a frown, though it was more of a statement. He knew Barbara, he knew how she thought and knew how to tell what she was thinking by just the faces she pulled and it was obvious to him, that Barbara did not approve of this new vigilante.

Barbara shook her head. "He's a murder. He killed them and didn't even give them a chance to face justice." Naruto clicked his teeth in annoyance as Barbara looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

"I think this Black Hood guy is doing us all a favour." Barbara looked at him in shock, she had known that he had his moments where he got a little dark, but to accept murder like that was just shocking. "They're criminals, how many people have they killed, robbed, raped?"

Barbara flinched at the last one, having stopped numerous women from being raped and sometimes turning up too late as Batgirl. Each and every time she had to console those crying women and had even received reports that they had killed themselves out of shame and fear that it might happen again.

"That still doesn't make it right." Barbara argued and Naruto barked out a laugh.

"Not right." Naruto shook his head in annoyance. "How the hell is it not right, Barbara? They're criminals. The moment they started to kill and hurt other people they lost their rights. Batman, Robin, Batgirl, the police. They're too soft. All they're doing is making criminals smarter and more dangerous."

Barbara narrowed her eyes, angry at Naruto who had unknowingly insulted her actions as Batgirl. "Excuse me. I don't see you doing anything. You talk shit about people like Batman and Batgirl who actually risk their lives and what do you do?!" Naruto's eyes narrowed. "You sit at home and go out and fight in illegal fighting rings and when you do nearly get killed, you don't say anything! How do you expect people to help you?"

"How?! By fucking doing something about the criminals in this fucking town!" He shouted and Barbara did not shy away from the Naruto who had gotten to his feet, she too doing the same.

"We have laws, rules." She argued back, keeping her voice quiet, but none the less was heard. "You can't just ignore those or else you become just as bad as the criminals you hunt." She recited the words told to her by Batman when she first started training to become Batgirl.

"Ha! That's complete bullshit." Naruto laughed. "The difference between a guy like Black Hood and the criminals is that he kills to make sure that the criminals understand that there is no getting off with a slap on the wrist. It's a message that tells them if they kill then they better be prepared to be killed in turn."

"Oh really, and that makes it okay does it?"

"Damn right it does!" Barbara was having none of it and step closer to Naruto, who only looked down at her, both their eyes narrowed in anger and annoyance at the others stubbornness.

"And what makes a _murderer _like Black Hood different to Batman, or Batgirl?" She asked, wanting to know what Naruto actually thought about her alter ego. She had always known that Naruto had problems with her alter ego and her partners, but he had never actually said so, always changing the subject or being interrupted.

"I think that underneath all their strength and skill, their actually cowards." He answered and it took everything Barbara had to not let the hurt and sadness show on her face, especially considering Naruto's situation is one of the main reasons she goes out to fight crime. To have that person say that she is a coward is more hurtful than any injury she has suffered before.

"Cowards?" Barbara whispered, finally looking away from Naruto to the ground.

"Yes." Naruto replied, his own voice quieter having noticed Barbara's current change in attitude. "I remember what the old man, Hiruzen once told me, 'sometimes the world doesn't need another hero. Sometimes what it needs is a monster.' A monster to keep the rest in line, to show them that their actions have consequences and Black Hood is exactly that."

Barbara nodded her head numbly. "I see." She then turned and moved to begin packing up her stuff.

"Barbara?" Naruto called, confused on how everything had gone so south so fast.

"I'm going, Naruto." Barbara replied shortly. "When you actually wake up and start being the Naruto I know, let me know. I just; I can't deal with you when you're like this." She took a deep breath and stood at the door to Naruto's apartment. "I don't know what happened that night, but you haven't been the same since."

"Barbara, wait." Naruto moved forwards, but she stopped him with a raised hand.

"No!" She took another breath. "No, I think we both need time to ourselves to figure out what is going on because I don't know you right now." Naruto flinched slightly, having heard the heartbreak in her voice, but also because of the words she said.

"I-I." Barbara said nothing more as she opened the door as Naruto stumbled over his word. Then the door shut behind her and she walked down the corridor, having just heard Naruto curse, "fuck!"

And as she walked, she wiped her eyes feeling tears gather there."Idiot." She muttered.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Tuesday 17__th__, March, 22:10._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_The Bowery._

Taking a deep breath, Naruto did a quick check of his current equipment. His outfit consisted of black cargo pants, boots and a hoodie, with a stolen bulletproof vest underneath. All things were in place, with a Bowie knife attached to each of his thighs and a pistol holstered to his left hip.

Tonight was the night he had been planning for a while.

Ever since his argument with Barbara about his alter ego, Black Hood and the mortality of his new job, things had been quiet between the two. He had all but stopped going to school and focused most of his time on training in nearby gyms, already having put on a few pounds and grown two inches in the space of a month.

This meant that he and Barbara barely had anytime to break down the wall that had started to form between the two of them. But Naruto knew that it would take more than just a simple apology to heal some of the open wounds in their friendship.

Yet Naruto didn't have the time and while he would never admit it, he was a little scared that maybe Barbara didn't want him anymore. She had really stuck to her word and had not made any attempts to reach out to him and had left it to him to come to her when he had 'sorted himself out.' But the thing was, Naruto didn't know where to begin, didn't know how he can convince Barbara that this is who he is, who he always was.

She had made it clear that she didn't like who he was becoming and he was terrified that maybe, when she realised that this was he may always be, that she would leave.

_'Perhaps that's for the best.'_ A part of him whispered. _'That way she will never get hurt, never become a target that our enemies will use to hurt us.'_ And that was also what scared him, the thought of his enemies – which there would be many if he continued down this path – getting to Barbara to get to him.

But it all boiled down to two simple things.

Did he love Barbara enough to let her go and seek a life with someone else – the thought alone made his heart clench – safe and sound without the threat of a supervillain hurting her. Or was he going to be selfish and seek a life with her, knowing that supervillains are out there and could strike at any moment.

The answer was much easier to answer than he had thought. As much as it would pain him to see Barbara with another person, as long as she was happy and safe he would accept it. Her happiness and safety was all that mattered because he would protect those he cared about with a fierce ruthlessness.

"Man, this is so boring." Breaking out of his dark thoughts, Naruto took a peak around the corner and saw two guards sat outside a small warehouse. They weren't very well-dressed, their outfits mired in sweat and grime as they nursed a beer in one hand and the one on the left also nursing his holstered gun. "Don't understand why the boss is getting so scared by this new vigilante. We already have to deal with Batman and this fucker ain't as batshit as the Bat. Ha, see what I did there?"

The man beside him sighed in annoyance. "Yes, I did. Now shut up, your pissing me off."

"Bah, fuck your too." Naruto smirked, that one was obviously drunk and while his partner seemed more alert, there was no doubting his slightly glazed eyes that were clearly seen with the light shining on them from the light above them.

This just made his job much easier. He honestly expected Black Mask to have more…professional guards in place. However, from what he seeing these guys were new, obviously the few small time criminals who were willing to work for Black Mask despite Black Hood hunting those working for said crime lord with a single minded determination that had left the the rest of Gotham's criminal entity silent as they watched.

He knew this for a fact simply because they lacked the tailored suits and masks worn by the higher-ups of Black Mask's False Face Society.

Pulling down his hood, Naruto walked towards the two thugs, a bag slung over his shoulder. "Hey kid, you ain't meant to be here." The more sober of the two said, both of them rising to the feet with the drunkard stumbling slightly.

"I've got my payment." Naruto said calmly, shaking his bag slightly before chucking it at the drunk man who fell on his ass with the bag on his lap. "Tell Black Mask, that Naruto Uzumaki has paid his share."

"Alright, we will do." The second guy replied, his hand slowly moving away from the gun on his side. "Now get out of here kid, you ain't meant to be here."

"Yea, yea I know." Naruto replied as he watched the drunkard open the bag to see it empty.

"Hey!" The drunkard yelled as his partner looked to see what the problem was. "This is empty dickhead." They looked to Naruto to see him holding a gun towards them with a silencer attached to the end.

Two bullets exited the barrels quicker than they could react and hit them both in the chest where they dropped to the ground, dead. "Really, what a surprise." He snarked, moving forwards and picking up the body of the taller of the two and moving towards the door. From what he had learnt of this warehouse it was the armoury of Black Mask's operation

Lots of guns, ammunition and even explosives.

Perfect for him to expand his horizons in attacking Black Mask's operational structure. He had learnt a lot about Black Mask since he was a kid and one of those things was that he was very methodical in the way he ran his criminal empire. The thugs that worked for him had rotational shifts, one week a group of thugs would be on the streets dealing in either drugs, prostitutes, guns or collecting tax. The next, that same group would be working in one of the bases.

Each thug was assigned to only one base and that way, should they be arrested then they couldn't give away the inner workings about Black Mask's operations. Smart, simple and effective.

Yet it also had one downside.

Naruto in his tenure as Black Hood had been killing Black Mask's thugs in the street and therefore, reducing the number of people defending hideouts of the crime lords empire. Now normally this wouldn't be a problem, but the minor criminals that Black Mask could have hired to fill in the gaps, knew that Black Hood – a hero that now killed, a terrifying thought to them all – had beef with Black Mask. Therefore, no one wanted to work for him, not even the desperate.

Except for a few of course.

Then there was the fact that Naruto knew that Black Mask was a very prideful individual and would never, not even if it meant saving his life, go begging to any of the other crime families for help.

This worked in Naruto's favour as it meant that this armoury, once defended by twenty men each week, now had a defensive force less than ten. Two of which were already dead at his feet, well one was, the other was held in his grasp.

He may not be a person known or praised for his patience, but Naruto was a very determined individual. Taking out Black Mask was not going to be an instant thing, it would take time and careful planning. Plus, his pranking history was certainly coming in handy for planning this whole thing.

The past few weeks had been filled with Naruto taking out Black Mask's thugs and weakening his manpower. Then the next stage of his plan was to take out the armoury, leaving Black Mask and his goons extremely short supplied on firepower, while increasing his own. After that, it was a matter of waiting for Black Mask to make the next move and if Naruto knew him as well as he thought he did, then that would involve running to a more secure location.

Pressing a buzzer on the door, Naruto leaned the body against the door just enough to make it seem like the guard was closing his eyes while waiting. Meanwhile, he moved the dead body of the drunkard to the base of the door. Thankfully, he managed to get that done just in time and move to hide on the opposite side of the door before a hatch opened on the door and another thug peeked through.

"What you want, Jonny? Your shift ain't done yet." The man asked, but there was silence. Obviously cautious because of this, he looked around and Naruto pressed himself further against the wall as to not be seen. "Jonny, what the fuck is going on?" It was then that, Naruto kicked the thugs legs and the dead body fell to the ground. "What the fuck?!"

There was a buzzing sound and the door opened. A cry of shock escaped the thugs mouth as he tripped over the body of the second guard, and cursed as he spotted Naruto. Yet that was all he could do as Naruto fired off another round into the man's head.

Not saying anything, Naruto pushed the body of one of the thugs into the closing door, keeping it from locking and moved to rummage through the two bodies. After he had done, he tucked the two new guns into his pants and moved into the warehouse.

It was quiet, for most of the journey, obviously the lack of manpower, meant that patrolling the armoury was much more difficult with far more holes in their defence. Well, that was his thoughts until he heard the sound of jeering and shouting.

Pulling up to a stop of an open doorway, he took a peek around the corner and saw five men sat around a poker table, with a sixth seat empty. _'7 rounds left in my Glock, with two clips remaining. Another Glock, no silencer and one clip. A Smith and Wesson M&P, ten round clip and no silencer.'_ He recounted mentally before taking another peek. _'Okay, only two are carrying guns, rest are just knives. I think.'_

"Hey!" Naruto froze and looked at the man standing across from him, his hands clenched by his side. Reacting quickly, Naruto turned his silenced Glock on the man and fired a headshot before performing a flawless, diving roll into the now silenced room, just as the wall he was stood behind was riddled with bullet holes.

"Shit! It's the Black Hood!" One man shouted, just as Naruto got to his feet and fired two bullets, one to the chest and then to the head of the closest thug.

"Kill him!"

Naruto took a moment to take stock of the situation. He had killed the closest guy, holding a knife. One more was charging towards him, also holding a knife. The remaining three were stood behind the table, two holding their pistols and one having an AK-47 that must have been hidden from his sight.

Reacting quickly, Naruto did not fire his gun and instead counter-charged the thug holding a knife and body slammed into him. This was done just as gunfire erupted once more, however Naruto was now hidden behind the body of one of enemies.

Blood splashed into the air as the three firing goons tried to break through Naruto's human shield and kill him. However, those bullets that did manage to get through were so slow that they harmlessly collided with bulletproof armour and didn't even stall him as Naruto continued his charge, using the dead body as a shield.

With a grunt he pushed the much lighter body over the top and into the three guns who had to put a hold on their firing as to avoid the body of their dead comrade. One however, was not so lucky and was sent to the ground as the body collided with his face.

This allowed Naruto to train his gun on one goon and fire two bullets into him. Just as he went to turn his gun on the second, the thug that had fallen on the floor kicked the table into Naruto. This didn't hurt, be he was distracted enough that his aim went off track, the bullet colliding harmless into the wall.

Stepping back, Naruto ejected the clip and went to pull out a second clip when he had to duck behind the table as the thug holding the AK-47 managed to start firing once more.

Thankfully, he didn't have to wait long as the man had to stop to reload.

With one hand braced on the top of the table, Naruto jumped over the table while simultaneously lashing out with a kick that knocked the AK to one side. Landing on the ground he spun round and sent a spinning, back kick into the stomach of the thug who kicked the table and had just gotten to his feet, who collided against the wall before he could start firing his pistol.

"Ahhh!" The man that had held the AK charged forward in a mad frenzy, but Naruto parried the punch to one side and slammed a chop to the man's neck. Meanwhile, his other hand moved down and smoothly pulled out one of his Bowie knives and drove it up straight into the man's head through his jaw.

Pulling the blade free and wiping the blood off on his sleeve, Naruto turned to look at the only remaining thug who had dropped to his knees in surrender. "Please man, I surrender." The man dropped his gun and pushed it towards Naruto's feet, who looked at it and then the man. "I'm done, I swear. I won't kill anyone, hell I'll turn myself in. Just please, don't kill me."

Naruto stood silently, allowing the man to continue begging for his life pathetically. "Okay." The man sighed with relief, almost collapsing to the ground with relief.

"Thank you." The man shook, the adrenaline leaving his body weak. "Thank you."

"But you will go to Black Mask and tell him what happened here." The man froze in shock and fear. "Tell him that Black Hood was someone who _he _created and that I'm coming for him next." There was no movement from the thug as he stared up at Naruto in shock and fear. "Go on."

"Please! He'll kill me, let me do anything but that!" That man cried out in fear, knowing that even going to Black Mask to report failure would mean his death.

"If you don't go." Naruto pulled out a gun and pointed it at the man. "Then I'll kill you now. Your choice."

Tears streamed down the man's face as he shakily got to his feet and moved to leave.

"Oh, if you think of trying to hide and not do as I ask." Naruto, fully embracing his Black Hood persona calmly broke the silence, the lighting of the room ensuring that not even a single feature could be seen. "Then I will find you and finish off what I started."

Nodding his head, the man rushed out the armoury and Naruto watched him go with a clam expression. It was a baseless threat, there was nothing stopping the man from running away because it would make the man extremely unlucky run into Black Hood again. But it didn't matter, while Naruto hated killing and threatening people, Black Hood required him to be a force of nature, a monster that will kill without hesitation.

_'__Man.'_ Naruto thought as he looked up at the ceiling in thought. _'This doesn't get any easier.' _Not even now, after having done this for just shy of a month. Killing was something that while on the outside, came easy to him. On the inside it filled him with sadness and self-loathing at what his life had become. _'This is who I am, I'm doing this to protect Barbara, to protect Jim.'_

Clenching his fist, Naruto moved to the front and took the bag he had left there and moved towards the various crates scattered in each room. Making sure to fill it to the brim. It. was heavy, extremely so.

But the choices he had made, the consequences of his actions were heavier and he would continue to bare them alone.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Friday 20__th__, March, 13:25._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_Unknown Location._

Black Mask, formerly known as Roman Sionis. He came from a rich family, with his parents never really caring for him and focusing on expanding their wealth and fortune. After his parents had died he had taken over as head of his families company only to drive it into bankruptcy, quite quickly.

He had been driven to actually hide his face behind a wooden mask carved from his fathers coffin, only for that to burned onto his skin in his first fight against Batman.

His appearance coupled with his keen intellect had allowed Black Mask to carve out quite a large criminal empire for himself, nowhere near as big as his rivals, the Carmine and Falcone families. But still, very large and successful.

With running a criminal empire came many obstacles and downfalls that would have driven many men to extreme anger and madness. Roman Sionis on the other hand, was not a normal man. He saw these pitfalls and obstacles as simple annoyances that he would eventually overcome.

However, recently things had changed.

His criminal empire was crumbling around him, like taking bricks out of a wall. At first, this vigilante, the Black Hood had simply focused on killing his henchmen and that was fine. They were replaceable and was nothing more than an inconvenience. Hardly anything to worry about.

That had changed after the attack on his armoury, a week ago.

Black Mask had been too focused on Batman and the other crime families encroaching on his territory to see how badly things had become. People no longer wanted to work for him simply because of Black Hoods willingness to kill and now, every time one of his men was killed it was like taking bricks out of a crumbling wall. Each time one was removed huge sections of it crumbled to the ground in a heap.

Now, he realised his mistake. Black Hood had been smart, very smart in what he had done and that made Black Mask angry. First building up a reputation that would stop people from accepting Romans job offers, then going for the vital areas of Black Masks empire once his manpower had been significantly drained.

And now what was he left with. A couple of millions of dollars, two safe houses and twenty men left. But he had a plan.

Black Mask always had a plan and it required one simple thing.

Bait.

Black Mask chuckled sinisterly, his shoulder shaking. Today, he would rid himself of this annoying pest once and for all. Now just a matter of setting it all up.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Friday 20__th__, March, 19:45._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_Gotham Heights._

Naruto sat back calmly looking out of the alleyway and onto the busy roads of Gotham Heights. Well, busy was a relative term. It was not quite rush hour, but there was definitely a lot of cars on the road.

He was dressed in his Black Hood gear and in front of him, was a motorcycle helmet painted black in colour – might as well go all into his persona as Black Hood – resting on top of his Yamaha YZF-R3. A 'gift' kindly given to by Black Hood.

_"__Right, where leaving the base, moving to Safe House Two, keep eyes peeled and inform us if you catch sight of Black Hood or Batman."_ A man ordered over the radio. It was something he confiscated off one of Black Masks bases and was still wired into their radio frequency. It was a shock to him that this had happened, but something he was going to use to his advantage.

"Sloppy." Naruto shook his head in amusement as he attached his Heckler and Koch MP5K to his back before leaning down and reviving his bike engine.

Today was the day Black Mask would die. It was just his luck that Black Mask was running to a new, more defensible location and therefore needing to leave his safe house. It would be difficult and extremely problematic if Black Mask did escape to his safe house, but not impossible.

Catching him on the open road was just much easier and simpler.

He waited another five minutes before three identical black SUVs blurred past the alleyway he was stationed in. With a grin, Naruto revved his engine, flicked on his light before racing off, temporarily doing a wheelie.

He zoomed on to the street, skidding slightly before moving down the road quickly weaving in and out lanes. Despite this though, his eyes trained on the three SUVs moving down the roads like a convoy. Reaching round, he grabbed hold of submachine gun and opened fire on the back convoy. A few hit the glass, but did not shatter it letting him know that it was bulletproof, but most were aimed towards the wheels.

His aim was true and with a pop the back wheels burst and the car drove off course and collided into a street lamp. Thus, taking it out of commission.

But at this point, the men had realised something was wrong and their speed increased.

Not sparing it a glance he increased his speed in response and pulled up alongside the side of the middle car, no doubt holding Black Mask. He went to aim at the front car, but quickly swung his gun round and fired into the passenger seat as the window rolled down enough to let the passenger open fire on him. Naruto was quicker on the draw and fired riddling the man with bullets and he must have hit the driver as the car swerved off course and smashed into a shop.

Seeing this and hearing the screams of fright from the people, Naruto once again fired upon the front car and took out its tires, before spinning round and driving towards the car holding Black Mask. After all, wouldn't want someone interfering.

As soon as he pulled up, he jumped off his bike and rushed into the shop as people rushed away from the scene. "Come on out, Black Mask!" Naruto called out, his feet crunching upon broken glass and debris. His gun trained upon the door as his eyes flickered around the room looking for any sign of a surprise attack. "It's over."

The door opened and Naruto riddled the man with bullets before he could even aim his gun or surrender.

"There's nowhere to run." Naruto continued. "So just save us both the trouble and come out and I'll make your death quick." He moved forwards and looked inside to see that Black Mask was slumped against his chair, blood pooling into his lap and onto the floor from a wound to his neck. "Tch." He didn't know how, but obviously one of his bullets must have hit the crime lord without him realising.

He froze when he heard the sound of cars coming to a stop and numerous guns clicking and no doubt aimed at him. "I must say." Naruto growled in anger as he heard the voice of Black Mask sound from behind the barricade of cars and goons. "You don't look as intimidating as my men make you out to be. Nor as smart. You fell for my trap quite easily."

It took everything Naruto had to not scream and rage at his arrogance. Of course, Black Mask wouldn't be as stupid or careless as to leave his communications on an open channel that could be listened to by anyone who knew how to change a radio frequency.

Raising to his full height, Naruto turned to face Black Mask and what must be fifteen guns aimed right at him. All assault rifles and each man wearing a mask of some sort to hide their faces.

"Shit." He cursed silently.

**A/N: So there we are, another chapter finished and I apologise for how long it took me. Not exactly proud with this chapter, but please let me know what you think and please give me constructive criticism and not flames. If you want to say my fic is shit, then don't because those types of opinions don't matter to me and are just pathetic. So save us all the bother and just stop reading and go elsewhere.**

**Now the poll is closed and I've decided on four possible pairings and these are:**

**1.****Naruto and Barbara – If this story is going to be a single pairing then this is going to be the only pairing. Now this doesn't mean that their pairing will be perfect the moment they get together, in fact far from it. Naruto will have relationships with other women in the story. These two will be torn apart by their conflicting ideas on what to do with criminals, but will eventually end up together in the end. So if you want a single pairing then let me know as Barbara will be the only person to be paired with Naruto at the end of story if it's just a single pairing.**

**2.****Naruto and Barbara and Kara (Supergirl) – Same again with Barbara, her and Naruto will be back and forth and one of the girls Naruto will have a relationship with at some point is Kara (in the case of a single pairing – meaning Barbara at the end – Kara will have an intimate relationship with Naruto at some point that might last a couple of Arcs before they break up and just stay as friends). But if you really want Naruto to be with more than one woman then it is one possible choice.**

**3.****Naruto and Barbara and Koriand'r (Starfire) – Same again with Barbara, her and Naruto will be back and forth and one of the girls Naruto will have a relationship with at some point is Koriand'r (in the case of a single pairing – meaning Barbara at the end – Korinad'r will have an intimate relationship with Naruto at some point that might last a couple of Arcs before they break up and just stay as friends). But if you really want Naruto to be with more than one woman then it is one possible choice.**

**4.****Naruto and Barbara and Kara and Koriand'r - Don't think I need to explain what I mean by this.**

**Now a new poll is being posted on my page where you can choose two of the four possible options. So please go do that once you have read this.**

**Overall, each of the women above will have a intimate relationship at one point, but it depends on whether just Barbara will end up with him and Kara/Koriand'r stay friends with him after they break up, or if other stuff happens. But either way, each will have a relationship with him at one point, it's just a matter of which is permanent and which isn't.**

**Now for your questions or doubts about my story:**

**Heavenly Gods:**** I can understand that, but when Naruto first started out he was extremely weak. Power didn't come instantly, but it came over the course of many years. I'm not going to do what some authors do and have Naruto instantly become OP as fuck by unlocking the Sharingan or some shit like that. No, in these early chapters Naruto is been thrown right into the deep end and doesn't know how to swim, so to speak.**

**He's going to get his ass kicked over and over again, but like we saw in the anime. Every time Naruto gets beaten down he comes back stronger. That's a key part of Naruto's character. Yea, right now he is weak as fuck. The guys he's fought so far are basic thugs, against people like Batman and whatnot, he's extremely weak and will lose a fight easily.**

**But that will change eventually, just bare with me and the story as it progresses. Because eventually Naruto will become, extremely powerful.**

**Vizard890:**** To be completely honest, I'm still undecided. I know for a fact that if I pull a reincarnation act a lot of people will be pissed and to be honest, I don't want to be lazy like that. But I am thinking of using Kurama, well not exactly Kurama himself, but more the idea of it. You know the different forms and transformation he has. But it won't be linked to Kurama himself and will in fact be Naruto's Metahuman ability if you know what I mean. I'm also thinking of using something like the Eight Gate or Sage Mode or all three.**

**Not all at once, but having Kurama's Chakra as his Metahuman ability and Eight Gates/Sage Mode being something taught to him. Might even have him learn magic cause that way he can recreate some of his old dimensions techniques.**

**Ejammer:**** At first he will be human much like Batman and the Bat family. Not super strong or fast, but still able to contend with best or worse (depending on how you look at it) of them and then becoming a Metahuman to give him that extra power to contend with the OP characters of the DC universe (*cough* Doomsday *cough*). **

**The1whoknox:**** Yes, Naruto will have powers eventually. If you want to know my reasoning on that look at my response to Ejammer and Vizard890. That should explain slightly what I have or am still deciding to do with Naruto and how he will progress in the story.**

**xSean:**** Yep, first person to point that out. Just a little throw in to Naruto's childhood in Konoha. And as to how far I'm planning to go, as far as I can really. Not every comic or characters is going to be involved. To get an idea of what type of story I'm going to try and create, go read Vimesenthusiast's A Third Path to the Future FanFic, that is a Harry Potter and Marvel crossover. And I mean a serious Marvel crossover that doesn't just focus on X-Men or Avengers, but every major villain of the Marvel Comics. I'm trying to recreate something similar with a Naruto and DC crossover.**

**Abcvoltage:**** No, I've tried to make a realistic portrayal of Naruto born and raised in Gotham and we all know how fucked up the people in Gotham can be. Most of his traits, his desire to protect his precious people, his determination to achieve his goals and other parts of his personality will be seen. You just have to look closely. Just because my Naruto doesn't run around in orange screaming he's gonna be Hokage and his love for ramen doesn't mean he isn't Naruto. **

**People change, look at Naruto when he finally does become Hokage. He's mature, serious and nothing like his younger self in terms of temperament. Not only that, but Naruto had his parents with him till he was seven and they died. He actually knew his parents before they died and that can change people, even more so in a city where people like the Joker are on the loose. Expecting Naruto to be carbon copy of who he was in the anime isn't possible. So I've tried to make a realistic portrayal with links to his anime self.**

**Hope this clears up any confusion and or questions. If not please let me know in a review so I can answer your queries.**


	3. Chapter III - Confrontation

**Injustice: The Path to Hell.**

**Book 1: A Journeys Beginning.**

**Chapter III – Confrontation**

**Author Notes will be at the bottom.**

"Normal Speech."

_'__Normal Thought.'_

**"****Demon Speech."**

**_'_****_Demon Thought.'_**

"Other Speech Variants."

_Location/Time_

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Friday 20__th__, March, 19:50._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_East End._

Night had descended upon Gotham, casting the city into shadow. The smoke billowing out from the various power plants scattered around the city, covered the night sky stopping the moon and stars from being seen. It was ominous and the perfect breeding ground for the criminal underbelly to grow.

That had changed when Batman, Gotham's Dark Knight appeared. Like a vengeful spirit he had descended upon the criminals of Gotham and gave them something to fear.

He had no power, no super strength or super speed. Just pure human physicality, advanced technology, superior fighting skill and his greatest weapon of all, his mind. Using his keen intellect coupled with his mastery of numerous martial arts, Batman was able to go toe to toe with the worst of the criminals in Gotham.

Tonight, Batman was sat comfortably inside the Batwing – one of vehicles that allowed him to move across the city with great speed – as he listened to Alfred recount various minor crimes that had begun to take place throughout the city.

"And Black Hood?" Batman growled out in his usual gravelly voice that allowed him to mark a clear difference between Bruce Wayne, the billionaire playboy and Batman, Gotham's Dark Knight. "Any reports on him?"

The Black Hood was someone who interested Batman. He was a vigilante that had reminded Batman of himself when he first started out as a vigilante in Gotham. Sure he had never killed like Black Hood, but he had come close on many occasions. Not only that, but Black Hood was competent, his fighting style was raw and undisciplined, but he obviously had a good head on his shoulders and used that to help him overcome his weaknesses.

Eventually, Batman planned to actually change the way Black Hood dealt with criminals, killing was very much a possibility but it would make them criminals in the eyes of the government. Something heroes like himself didn't need to deal with. It was bad enough having hundreds of criminals and police officers trying to figure out his identity, without adding the government on top of that.

It was the reason why he had not followed the League of Shadows ideology of killing criminals. The governments laws, while vague and exploitable by the criminal element, were the laws none the less and Black Hood needed to realise that. Otherwise he would have a lot of powerful people after him.

Batman didn't want that.

He didn't know Black Hoods past, but he saw someone trying their hardest to make Gotham a safer place and while he didn't agree with his tactics, it was none the less a brave thing to do. Batman planned to provide whoever Black Hood was, with the proper training and guidance just like he had done for Barbara and Dick.

"Young master Dick, has just reported in that he and miss Gordon have spotted a car chase in Gotham Heights." Alfred informed him in his rich, British accent. "It involves a certain Black Mask and Black Hood. They are moving to put a stop to the incident."

"Thank you, Alfred." With that, Batman spun the Batwing round and sped off towards Gotham Heights.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Friday 20__th__, March, 20:00._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_Gotham Heights._

_'__You're a fucking idiot!'_ Naruto cursed himself mentally as he looked at the numerous guns aimed right at him, just waiting for the order to open fire. _'How could you be so fucking stupid as to believe Black Mask was beaten like that?!' _The blonde looked around the shop and noticed that on the other side of the SUV was a single wooden door, it was caved in slightly allowing him to see a staircase.

"There's nowhere to run!" Black Mask called out as he stared at the Black Hood, the masked vigilante that had almost ruined him. But now, now there was nowhere for Black Hood to go. Perhaps he might have managed to escape if he were Batman or a member of his little Bat Family, they were slippery and well-trained. Black Hood though, was not as skilled as them.

"Oh yea, what makes you say that?" Naruto called back, his body pressed against the open door as he unclipped the near empty magazine of his submachine gun and replaced it with a new one.

Clicking his teeth in annoyance at the bravado shown by the vigilante, he nodded his head towards his men. "Your bravado proves nothing, but that you are simply scared and too afraid to show it." His men moved around the cars until they stood in a semi-circle around the hole in the shop created from the crashed SUV. "A coward too cowardly to show that he's a coward." There was a few chuckles from his men at his words.

Naruto on the other hand, grit his teeth at the taunting. "Really, I'm the coward." He shot back. "I don't see you stood here killing me! What, you can't be that afraid of me, can you? Afraid I'll kill you without your brain dead henchmen to protect you!"

"Ha! Once again your false bravado shows." Black Mask laughed before growing serious. "But I grow tired of these games. Kill him!" With that single shouted command the guns trained on the SUV opened fire. In the space of a few second hundreds of bullets ripped through the air and punched into car door.

Luckily for Naruto, none broke through.

Once the firing stopped, no doubt due to the thugs needing to reload, Naruto raised his gun while simultaneously spinning round and went to fire. Only to have to quickly duck behind cover once more as bullets cut through the air his head once occupied.

_'__Shit!' _Looks like Black Mask had kept a few thugs back from firing allowing the bulk of his forces to reload, while forcing him (Naruto) to keep his head down. _'This isn't looking good.' _Crouching down, Naruto crawled slowly down the SUV, making sure to keep his head down as he moved around the front of the car (note: the back of the car is the part been shot to hell by Black Masks men).

If he could just get a little closer, he could make a run for the exit in the brief interlude it took them to reload.

They would be expecting him to still be behind the door, huddled down and waiting. This would give him the chance to make a break for the door before they realised their mistake. Thus, allowing him the chance to retreat and rethink his strategy.

The firing stopped and Naruto didn't waste a moment.

"Shit! He's on the other side!" One of Black Masks men shouted, but it was too late. Naruto had already charged into the wooden door, knocking it off its hinges and made it into the stairwell.

"Don't just stand there!" Black Mask yelled, angered that the vigilante was escaping. "Go after him!"

The thugs went to rush into the building when a shadow descended upon them. They looked up and all one man saw was a black boot mere inches from his face before he was sent unconscious to the ground, Batgirl crouched over him.

They each took a cautious step back in shock at her arrival and just as they were about to open fire, they heard the sound of something flying overhead. Each looked and saw the Batwing hovering in the air and its pilot, Batman taking a running leap down into the fray.

Many went to turn their guns upon him, but made the fatal mistake of forgetting about Batgirl. This cost them dearly as Batgirl charged forwards taking out thug after thug with practised ease. Her quick dispatch of Black Masks men made even quicker when she joined up with Batman.

Both of them having moved to close the distance between one another and then working together in tandem to take out the various members of the False Face Society. They moved in perfect unison, when one would attack, the other would make sure to defend their back.

Jumping over Batman's back as he slammed a powerful cross into the face of one thug, knocking him out cold, Batgirl kicked out with both legs in a split kick. The kick was perfectly timed as it struck the two thugs that had rushed Batman with knives ready, she aimed at dead centre and both men stumbled back with bloody noses.

Batman used this to his opportunity grabbing one by the back of his neck and driving him face first into the ground. While crouched down, Batman went to sweep out the legs from underneath the second while Batgirl spun around, throwing a number of Batarangs at the group of thugs behind them who had aimed their guns at them.

Each one struck true and they dropped their guns in pain, cradling their hands as a Batarangs stuck in their hand. But they froze when they heard beeping and looked to see that sticking out from the SUV behind them was another, this one having a blinking red light upon it.

"Shit!" One cursed, but it was too late as it exploded with enough force to pick them up off their feet and launch them through the air, but not enough to kill them.

All the while Black Mask looked on with outrage. "Get us out of here!" He growled out to the driver, while getting into one of the SUVs. "Now!" He shouted and the SUV took off as what remained of his men were been picked off one by one.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Friday 20__th__, March, 20:10._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_Gotham Heights._

Panting, Naruto came to a stop at the top of the building and looked over the edge to see Batman and Batgirl dealing with Black Masks men. "Haha." He laughed, taking a few moments to catch his breath as he looked down with a smile. "I may not like your no kill policy, but I'll admit you both saved my ass."

With a grin, Naruto looked to the left and saw a building a few metres apart from this one. Moving back to the opposite end of the building, he took a running leap for the next one.

Well, that was the plan anyway.

He had realised something was wrong as he neared the edge of the building. A shadow had moved – and not his own – to his right, but it was too late. So as he jumped, pushing as much power into his legs as he kicked off, he also spun around.

This saved him from what could have been a deliberating injury as a foot collided with his raised guard in midair. Still, the force behind the kick, plus his less than graceful jump sent him rolling across the roof of the building he landed on. Naruto went with the roll and came to his knees and looked to see Robin land on the roof with the grace of an acrobat, a staff held securely in both hands as he stared at Naruto with narrowed eyes.

"This is the end of line, Black Hood." Robin said, his voice seemed to be teetering on the edge of puberty, putting into perspective on just how young Batman's sidekick was. "Just give up, this is a fight you won't win."

"Ha! Cheeky little shit, aren't you?" Naruto joked and all Robin did was smirk. "But I'm afraid I can't do that, got things to do and a city to save. You know how it is."

Robins face hardened. "Killing criminals doesn't save a city, it only makes you as bad as them." It was Naruto this time, who's eyes narrowed as he remembered Barbara's anger at what Black Hood did. "And I'm going to stop you."

"You can try." Naruto shot back, dropping down into a basic stance, something Robin noted was full of holes. _'Always did say I wanted to fight a member of the Bat Family. Not exactly how I wanted it to go down though.'_

There was a brief interlude before Naruto charged forward, Robin meeting his charge with one of his own. The blonde knew though, that a Robin had the advantage in close quarters combat and he didn't want to take any chances. Luckily, he had somewhat of a plan that many would consider stupid.

_'__What's he doing?'_ Robin thought as he watched Black Hood raise the gun, but even if he was aiming to fire at Robin, the gun wasn't even aimed in his general direction.

That was when Naruto threw the gun at Robin who was caught off guard by this unorthodox and downright stupid plan of throwing ones weapon away. As a result, he just barely ducked out the way, leaving him open to Naruto's charge.

With a roar, Naruto tackled Robin, picking the much lighter fighter off the ground before slamming him into the ground. The amount of force used, was so great that Robin was unable to keep hold of his staff, it slipped from his grasp and clattered to the ground as he laid there dazed.

None the less, he had been on the receiving end of numerous super-powered blows and quickly recovered.

Just as Naruto's fist came within inch of slamming into his face, Robin moved his head to one allowing it to hit the ground. He would give the new vigilante props for not flinching away in pain as his knuckles no doubt stung as a result of punching concrete. In fact, Naruto pulled back his other hand and went to bring it down when Robin quickly put him into a triangle choke.

Gasping as he felt his air supply get gradually cut off, Naruto collapsed to his knees. "Ack!" He felt his eyes bulge when Robin tightened his leg muscles as to put more pressure of his throat.

_'__Shit!'_ He saw his gaze darken around the edges. _'No, not gonna let it end here!' _With great determination, Naruto planted his feet firmly on the ground and lifted Robin up into the air, his free hand keeping Robin held in place by his cape. Then he dropped to his knees, swinging his arm down that Robin had a hold of.

Seeing this, Robin moved his hands to the floor to brace himself. Even then, the force behind the strike he could feel his arms buckle slightly however he managed to unhook his legs and avoided a serious back injury.

But this was what Naruto had wanted, for he still had hold of Robin's cape.

With a tug, he pulled Batman's sidekick straight into his knee, making the younger boy hunch over gasping for air. This was followed by a powerful left hook, an uppercut and then finishing it off with a roundhouse kick to the heroes face sending him crashing to the ground.

_'__Nows my chance!'_ The blonde thought as he saw Robin shake his head slowly as to regain his bearings.

Turning around, Black Hood took another running leap and landed upon the next building, rolling as to mitigate the amount of force that would run through his legs. Once he got to his feet, he repeated the process again and again. Naruto was actually quite pleased with himself as he managed to make it a total of ten buildings before Robin caught up with him.

Robin was smaller, lithe and built for speed and agility.

Naruto on the other hand, had put on muscle as to give him extra power when dealing with thugs. He was by no means slow, but he was aiming for a perfect mix between both speed and strength. Whereas right now, Robin was at that age where speed was the only thing really going for him. But even then, Naruto's build right now was focused more on power.

However, while he was proud to have cleared ten buildings before Robin caught up. He wasn't exactly happy when what looked to be a modified bola wrapped around his ankles, making landing safely an impossibility.

Seeing the ground rushing to meet him, Naruto curled himself up into a ball and braced himself for impact.

As soon as he landed he felt the air rush out of his lungs and tried his hardest to roll sideways. Eventually he came to a stop at the edge of the building, but only due to rolling into the raised platform that acted as a barrier.

Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto could see Robin land on the roof, his staff back in his hand. "That's some aim you got." He grunted out as he sat up, his sore body protesting slightly, but Naruto ignored it in favour of slowly moving one hand down towards his Bowie knife.

"Yea, that's some kick you got." Naruto smirked when he saw Robin roll his jaw, no doubt the kid would be feeling that for a few weeks. "Dirty trick you pulled, doing that." Even though he said that, Robin was far from insulted, he himself had used dirty tactics like that to gain an advantage over a superior or equal opponent. No, he wasn't insulted just irritated that he had fallen for it.

He was trained by Batman to use dirty tactics like that against superior opponents. Robin knew or at least thought that he should have been able to see similar attacks coming and was annoyed with himself that he hadn't.

"Yeah." With his free hand, Naruto scratched his cheek, glad that he had decided to wear a face mask to cover the lower portion of his face and also sow that into his hood. It meant that even after all that, his hood was still up covering his face. "Well, I ain't stupid enough to believe I can beat you in a one on one fight just yet."

"Just yet? What makes you think that's gonna change." Robin questioned almost amused by the thought. If Black Hood thought that he would be able to close the gap between them anytime soon then he would be mistaken. Robin had been trained by Batman and it would take more than a few fights to close the gap between them.

The idea that he could was almost insulting.

Naruto shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "I don't think." Just as Robin got within arms reach, Naruto pulled his knife free while jumping to his feet. In a single flowing motion that even surprised himself, he raised his knees high enough to cut the ropes and then used that same knife to go for a downward slash. "I know I will!"

Robin though, had more than enough time to prepare for the strike and easily blocked the blade and he went to perform a strike of his own with the other end of his stick. Naruto however, managed to grip hold of it, though his palm stung.

The two stuck there for a moment, pushing against one another. As a result, Naruto's superior strength eventually won out.

Robin though, used this to his advantage as all skilled martial arts should. He fell backwards and Naruto came with him, caught off guard by the sudden lack of resistance he was suddenly facing. The young sidekick rolled onto the ground and as soon as his back hit the ground, his foot lashed out and kick Naruto in the stomach.

The blonde gasped in pain as a foot struck his stomach and sent him flying over Robins head. He rolled to a stop though and turned to face Robin who was beginning to charge towards him.

_'__Fuck! This is not going good.' _Naruto cursed as he pulled out his second knife and defended as best as he could against Robin, only to stumble backwards from a strike to the head a few seconds later. He quickly recovered and managed to duck under a straight thrust and spun round to slash at Robin's side.

Yet Batman's protégé masterfully manoeuvred his staff in a way that intercepted Naruto's blade mid swing. This took all the power out of it, something Robin as he went to swipe at Naruto once more.

Seeing this, Naruto was forced to dodge, his knives weren't long enough to successfully parry let alone block the staff strikes, especially with the surprising amount of power paced behind each strike. Even so, while the strikes were faster than he was used to Naruto had long since learned to weave his head between strikes from his time street fighting.

And that's exactly what he did. But as he did he could feel the wind produced from each strike blowing through his hair and on more than one occasion, he could feel the side of the staff scrape against his ear as he just barely avoided the thrust. An occasion that was appearing more and more.

Knowing that he couldn't keep this up forever, Naruto smacked the next thrust to one side with his forearm, wincing slightly as he did. To make sure that Robin couldn't recover quickly, Naruto placed one foot on the staff before swinging his other arm round.

Robin, to avoid the knife strike leaned his head back while also bracing one hand against the ground, while he kept a tight grip on his staff with the other. Tensing his arm up, he swung his body weight round and slammed a roundhouse kick that Naruto didn't see coming and so, stumbled back, his lip busted.

'_Need to find a way to escape.'_ He managed to knock Robins staff to the ground once more as Batman's protégé quickly resumed his attack and went for a slash at his body, but Robin expertly dodged and landed a kick to Naruto's stomach. _'Batman and Batgirl will have finished up with Black Masks thugs any minute now!'_

With a cry of pain, Naruto crashed into the wall as a result of Robins flashy double stomp. It had involved the hero embedding his staff into the ground and while keeping a hold of the bar, swung round and lashed out with a double-footed stomp to Naruto's chest.

"You might as well give up." Robin suggested as if genuinely concerned for Naruto's safety. Yet the blonde knew it was nothing more than an act. "Save us both a lot of trouble."

"Oh yea." Naruto smirked, but Robin couldn't see that, what he did see was Naruto reaching into his jacket and tensed in preparation. "Sorry, but giving up really isn't my style."

"And what is your style? Getting your ass kicked?" Robin snarked as he watched Black Hood grasp hold of something inside his jacket. "'Cos that's what's happening. You got nowhere to go and for whatever reason, Batman wants to speak to you."

It took a few moments for that to register in Naruto's mind. "Batman wants to speak to me?" He whispered, honestly astounded by that piece of news. Why would Batman of all people want to speak to him? Was it a trap to lure Black Hood in and arrest him? Or was it for some other reason?

"Yea, didn't say why though." Robin took a slow step forwards towards Black Hood, very cautious of what he might have a hold of. The new vigilante had proven himself to be very skilled, nowhere near his, Batgirls or Batman's level, but definitely someone to be wary of. It was no wonder why the various thugs that Black Mask had struggled.

What he lacked in skill and physical ability he made up for in unpredictability and just the sheer breadth of his ability to improvise and come up with plans on the fly. It was honestly astounding and quite a bit frightening. Not to mention he just didn't quit, Robin had though plenty of guys and girls that usually just gave up the moment they realised they were outmatched.

Even some of the more dangerous criminals out there knew that sometimes it was best to surrender. Black Hood on the other hand didn't, he just kept getting up for more and no matter how many times Robin had showed him that no matter what he did, Robin would always have an answer for it. Despite all that, Black Hood just kept coming.

It was like every time Robin thwarted his attempts to gain an advantage, instead of becoming disheartened it only served to inspire Black Hood to try again and again. Compared to most of the villains Robin usually faced, it was certainly a little worrying.

"Huh, who'd a thought." Slowly, Naruto began to remove the object he was holding. "But I'm gonna have to put that on hold because I saw Black Mask take off before our little fight. Once I'm done with him then I might take Batman up on that talk. Until then though…" From Naruto's pocket he pulled out a grenade and Robin looked at it in shock.

"What the hell?!" Robin jumped back slightly as to put some space between him and Black Hood. "Oi! You really that desperate to escape!"

"Yep." Naruto quipped and pulled the pin free with a smirk, before he tossed it over the top of the wall.

Robin watched it lift into the air and slowly descend back to the ground. In the silence that permeated the roof the two occupants and fighters could hear the sound of people mingling in the street down below.

_'__Shit!'_ With a glare at Black Hood, Robin charged forwards and jumped off the building after the grenade. He angled himself so that he fell face first and kept his body completely streamline as to fall faster. Once the grenade was in range, he grabbed hold of it and then opened his cape as to act as a parachute and slow his descent.

With a grunt he rolled and launched the grenade up into the air as people around him jumped away in fright.

Only, when the grenade exploded it was filled with confetti that fell down upon the street.

"What?" Robin questioned aloud as he looked back up at the roof. _'He tricked me!'_ Realising this, Robin used his grappling gun to bringing him back up to the roof, ignoring the confused mumbling of the people of Gotham below as he did so.

Flipping onto the roof, he looked around only to find no sight of Black Hood at all. _'Shit! He got away.'_ Clicking his teeth in annoyance at falling for such a cheap escape tactic, Robin turned and moved back the way he came to meet up with Batman and Batgirl. He just knew that Batgirl would tease him about this failure. Sometimes he hated it when Barbara acted the part of his honorary older sister, just because she did it so well.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Friday 20__th__, March, 21:30._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_East End._

Groaning with pain, Naruto collapsed down on the couch with a beer in one hand. He chuckled happily as he moved the cold beer and pressed it against the large bruise forming upon his chest.

"Well, you've officially outdone yourself now, Naruto." The blonde chuckled once more, shaking his head at the absurdity of tonight. "Failed to kill Black Mask and got into a fight with Robin himself." Leaning, back comfortably into the couch he looked at his hand. "Why does Batman want to speak to me? Don't tell me he's gonna try and convince me to join his little pose?"

Naruto clenched his fist tightly as the thought ran through his mind. He could actually consider joining it simply for those suits they wear and the training they must undergo. It would definitely help him in his task of clearing up Gotham City. But at the same time, putting the criminals in Arkham was only a half measure.

Killing them was permanent.

Once they were dead, they couldn't come back and reek havoc upon the city. They wouldn't put innocent people like Barbara in danger. So yea, his answer would be a definite no. Even if that meant having to go against Batman and his sidekicks, as well as the criminals of Gotham.

He would do so without hesitation because at the end of the day, he would do anything to protect those he cared about. Even if it meant declaring war against the entire world.

"Tch." He clicked his teeth in annoyance. "You couldn't just pick the easy life could you?" He asked himself. "But nooo, you had to go and make life difficult for yourself. Oh well, no use turning back now."

Leaning back, he rested his head on the back of the couch and stared up at the ceiling. "I wonder what you're doing now, Barbara?" An image of his childhood friend laughing with a beautiful smile came to a mind and he could help but smile. But as he did, at the tip of his gaze he picked out the sight of a flash of red and yellow.

Turning round, he looked at the picture of his parents holding him his a baby. It was taken a few minutes after he was born, when he had finally stopped crying and settled down and falling to sleep in his mother's arms. His dad was there, smiling happily as he held Kushina's hand in one of his own as he smiled at the camera that was no doubt behind held by Jim.

Kushina herself despite looking tired, pale and clammy, the bright having being extremely difficult, was still smiling beautifully as she held him tightly to her.

Smiling sadly at the photo, Naruto turned to look out the window in thought. _'I wonder, what do you think of me now.'_ His smile twisted into a frown._ 'Would you support me? Would you be proud of me? Or would you be disappointed at what I've become?'_ He would not lie, he hoped that it would never be the latter.

Naruto would be the first to admit, that his parents meant a lot to him and there deaths hit hard. Yet, he had gotten over his fathers death quite quickly and so, if Minato was to be disappointed in him, it would hurt for sure but he could ignore it quite easily. It was not because he didn't love his dad, it was just that thanks to Kushina he managed to get over his death.

His mother on the other hand was a different story. When Minato died when he was seven. – he having being in the wrong place at the wrong time – Kushina had been there to help him. She kept that bubble around him that stopped Naruto from ever experiencing the truth of the world. But when she died when he was eleven, she having died from exhaustion as she worked tirelessly to ensure that Naruto was enveloped left wanting despite them struggling for money.

When she died, everything changed. The bubble that had been around him burst and the truth of the world around him was too much to bare. He never truly got over her death, not even now and so, if she was disappointed in his actions, Naruto didn't know if he could take it.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Friday 20__th__, March, 21:40._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_Unknown Location._

Barbara Gordon, wearing her Batgirl costume with her mask pulled back, sat in one of the chairs of the Batcave. Her eyes trailed from Batman, who was typing something into the Batcomputer to Robin, who was pressing an ice pack to his jaw.

Just the thought of Robin, the skilled fighter getting hit by a guy like Black Hood who only had slightly above average fighting skills was very amusing. "What?" Dick Grayson, aka Robin asked. Though if his narrowed eyes were anything to go by, he could take an accurate guess as to what she had been thinking and he didn't like it one bit.

"Nothing, nothing." Her smile grew wider as Dick's eyes narrowed even further. "How's the jaw?" She teased and laughed loudly when he growled in anger.

"Okay, whatever!" He threw his hands up in surrender. "He got the drop on me, so what. I guarantee he'd do the exact same to you too." He shot back and Barbara just nodded her head condescendingly.

"Of course he would." Barbara agreed easily and Dick knew that she was lying. "Whatever you say, little bird."

Growling, Dick went to say something back when Batman, his hood pulled back revealing the handsome face of Bruce Wayne stood up. "That's enough." He didn't shout, in fact his voice sounded like a whisper, but he was heard easily. "Dick, what did you think of Black Hood?"

"If you're asking me if I know who he is, then the answers no. Got no clue." Dick leaned back into his chair as to get more comfortable. "He's an alright fighter, not great but definitely someone to be wary of. His greatest strength right now would be his ability to improvise and come up with plans on the fly." He paused for a minute as if just remembering something. "He's also got insane stamina. Even I was getting tired as the fight continued on, yet Black Hood never seemed to slow down."

Barbara looked at Dick in confusion, he hadn't mentioned that when she asked him about Black Hood. _'Almost reminds me of Naruto and his insane stamina, he never seemed to get tired even if we'd spend all day running around and playing.'_ Thinking about her friend reminded her of the previous argument they had and she frowned. _'Perhaps I had been a little harsh, he had just gotten out of hospital after being near death. Of course he's gonna be afraid and probably took that out on my alter ego and the others. I shouldn't have let it get to me.'_

"I see." Bruce said quietly as he rubbed his chin in thought. _'Perhaps a superpower, a minor one.' _He reasoned mentally, but it was too soon to say. It was not uncommon for some people to have great stamina so there was no point jumping to wild conclusion. Didn't hurt to prepare for that possibility though. "How did he escape?"

"Well, I'd being dominating most of the fight." A blush started to cross across his features at having being tricked so easily. "Then he pulled out a grenade filled with confetti and threw it over the building and into a crowd of people, but I only found out that it was harmless until afterwards." He quickly added when he saw the teasing smirk appearing on Barbara's face and even the twitch of Bruce's lips.

"Interesting." Bruce nodded his heads, once more delving into his mind.

"So, outsmarted by Black Hood, huh?" Barbara questioned and Dick looked away from her, he would not give her the satisfaction of seeing just how embarrassed he was by that fact. "Who'd a thought that the big, bad Robin would let a common criminal escape from him."

"You know." Dick said quietly. "He seems to think that what he's doing is genuinely good work, killing criminals I mean." He answered Barbara's unasked question. "I think that he actually is just a guy that decided enough is enough and is fighting back at the criminals of Gotham."

Barbara nodded her head in agreement with Dicks statement. "Even so, killing is not the way to do things. We become no better than them."

"The thing is, I can't help but wonder, how many other people in Gotham are sick of criminals being put in jail only to eventually escape and just want them dead?" Dick whispered quietly, but both Barbara and Bruce looked at him. "If that's the case, how many of those are actually going to go out of their way to do something about it?"

_{Flashback Begin}_

_"__I think this Black Hood guy is doing us all a favour." Barbara looked at him in shock, she had known that he had his moments where he got a little dark, but to accept murder like that was just shocking. "They're criminals, how many people have they killed, robbed, raped?" _

_Barbara flinched at the last one, having stopped numerous women from being raped and sometimes turning up too late as Batgirl. Each and every time she had to console those crying women and had even received reports that they had killed themselves out of shame and fear that it might happen again. _

_"__That still doesn't make it right." Barbara argued and Naruto barked out a laugh._

_"__Not right." Naruto shook his head in annoyance. "How the hell is it not right, Barbara? They're criminals. The moment they started to kill and hurt other people they lost their rights. Batman, Robin, Batgirl, the police. They're too soft. All they're doing is making criminals smarter and more dangerous."_

_Barbara narrowed her eyes, angry at Naruto who had unknowingly insulted her actions as Batgirl. "Excuse me. I don't see you doing anything. You talk shit about people like Batman and Batgirl who actually risk their lives and what do you do?!" Naruto's eyes narrowed. "You sit at home and go out and fight in illegal fighting rings and when you do nearly get killed, you don't say anything! How do you expect people to help you?"_

_"__How?! By fucking doing something about the criminals in this fucking town!" He shouted and Barbara did not shy away from the Naruto who had gotten to his feet, she too doing the same. _

_"__We have laws, rules." She argued back, keeping her voice quiet, but none the less was heard. "You can't just ignore those or else you become just as bad as the criminals you hunt." She recited the words told to her by Batman when she first started training to become Batgirl._

_"__Ha! That's complete bullshit." Naruto laughed. "The difference between a guy like Black Hood and the criminals is that he kills to make sure that the criminals understand that there is no getting off with a slap on the wrist. It's a message that tells them if they kill then they better be prepared to be killed in turn."_

_"__Oh really, and that makes it okay does it?"_

_"__Damn right it does!" Barbara was having none of it and step closer to Naruto, who only looked down at her, both their eyes narrowed in anger and annoyance at the others stubbornness._

_"__And what makes a_ murderer_ like Black Hood different to Batman, or Batgirl?" She asked, wanting to know what Naruto actually thought about her alter ego. She had always known that Naruto had problems with her alter ego and her partners, but he had never actually said so, always changing the subject or being interrupted._

_"__I think that underneath all their strength and skill, their actually cowards." He answered and it took everything Barbara had to not let the hurt and sadness show on her face, especially considering Naruto's situation is one of the main reasons she goes out to fight crime. To have that person say that she is a coward is more hurtful than any injury she has suffered before._

_"__Cowards?" Barbara whispered, finally looking away from Naruto to the ground. _

_"__Yes." Naruto replied, his own voice quieter having noticed Barbara's current change in attitude. "I remember what the old man, Hiruzen once told me, 'sometimes the world doesn't need another hero. Sometimes what it needs is a monster.' A monster to keep the rest in line, to show them that their actions have consequences and Black Hood is exactly that."_

_{Flashback End}_

_'Naruto.'_ She thought sadly, recalling the argument they had not so long ago. _'Please, don't do anything stupid like that. I-I can't bare the thought of you being hurt like that again.'_ Through her mind, images of Naruto laying on the hospital bed fighting to survive, fighting to hold onto life was terrifying. She couldn't go through that again.

"Barbara?" Snapped out of her thoughts, the young woman in question looked up at her mentor. "Are you okay?"

"I-I, I'm fine, Bruce." She said and smiled up at him, though she knew he could see right through her attempt at appearing perfectly okay. "Just lost in thought for a minute. What do you need? Did I miss anything?"

"No." Bruce shook his head. "You can go home, I'll get in touch if something happens."

Nodding her head, Barbara got up and made her way home. _'Tomorrow, I'll go see him and apologise. I shouldn't have been so harsh on him, he was obviously terrified from his close encounter with death and just lashed out at me and the others. It's normal.'_ She told herself, knowing Naruto would be in bed asleep right now or trying to get to sleep.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Friday 20__th__, March, 22:00._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_Unknown Location._

"Fucking, Batman." Ms. Li, assistant of Black Mask was a beautiful woman of dark skin and of asian descent. Usually calm and collected in the face of the criminal underworld she associated with, but now, now she looked at her boss in worry. Rarely had she seen him so angry and yet here was, breathing heavily, a gun in one hand and the dead body of one of the few men they had left at his feet.

"Sir." She said, trying to maintain her level headedness, even with her boss in a state of anger that she had never witnesses before. "Perhaps it would be best, if we do not kill what few remaining men we have left."

Black Mask stared at her, his eyes narrowed and for a moments, Ms. Li thought she would going to be killed then and there. "Tch." Instead, much to her relief, Black Mask moved to sit down behind his desk once more, his gun placed on the mahogany table. The sound of it was light, but it made her flinch all the same. "What a fucking mess."

Ms. Li said nothing, she had already done enough by quelling as much of Black Mask's anger as she could. No doubt, should she try and offer advice once more, he would kill her. Part of her actually hopes that Black Hood had killed her boss, it would save her from possibly being the next victim of Black Masks anger. She quite liked living so she would pass on that suicidal thought process.

And so, silence permeated the room as Black Mask stared at the wall in thought with narrowed eyes.

That all changed when all of a sudden he broke out into laughter, Ms. Li look at him in confusion and a little bit of worry. Had the stress finally caught up with him and turned him insane? Or was there something else at play? Either way, Ms. Li slowly inched away from her manically laughing boss as to not catch his attention.

"Hahahaha!" Black Mask continued, before reaching towards his phone and dialling a number. "This is Black Mask, I have a job for you." Ms. Li couldn't make out who was on the other line or what was being said. "7 million." Black Mask frowned at the absurd amount, but knew that he had no choice with how much of a corner he had been backed into. "Very well, I want you to kill the vigilante called Black Hood.

Once more there was silence and then Black Mask smiled viscously. "Be here as soon as you can be, Deadshot."

**A/N: And there we have it, another chapter with another big cliffhanger. I'm sorry, please don't hate me. Anyway, as you can tell the Black Mask Arc is nearly finished and Naruto starts to get drawn into more and more situations that he is not prepared for.**

**Once again, this is done to force him to grow as a fighter and a warrior. Eventually, Naruto will become a very dangerous person who could deal with things like this easily, but right now. He's not ready and its showing. He thinks Black Mask is beaten even now, while sat at home in his apartment with a pre-celebration beer. However, as we have seen, Black Mask has another trick up his sleeve.**

**Now right now, for the pairings it stands at:**

**1)****Naruto and Barbara – 8 votes.**

**2)****Naruto and Barbara and Kara – 39 votes.**

**3)****Naruto and Barbara and Koriand'r – 16 votes.**

**4)****Naruto and Barbara and Kara and Koriand'r – 66 votes.**

**Gonna keep this poll open till about the start of the Court of Owls Arc, but as of right now, it seems choice 4 is the most popular option. Now many of you have mentioned how I should get more anti-hero women for a pairing with Naruto, but don't worry. I already have somethings planned out for Naruto and these three that actually create a more realistic portrayal of how they could get together.**

**Hopefully when I get to that point you will actually like what I did.**

**Now for the questions some people have been asking me:**

**Vizard890: The Laughing Joke, yes I have been considering it. I actually have a lot of potential ideas of how this event will change both Barbara and Naruto as well as the people around them. To be honest, it I definitely looking like a real possibility and I'm actually looking forward to writing out that comic in my own way. Because believe me, when I get to that part of the story, expect big, big changes in the way Naruto and Barbara act.**

**Stonepotrice: No, on the Might Guy gym though seeing how my Naruto reacts with him would be quite funny especially later on in the story. As for the backstory for Jim and Naruto's parents, yes. Don't expect super scientist Minato and Kushina like some stories do, because that's not happening. Minato and Kushina in this story were just ordinary people that gave birth to Naruto.**

**Though I will delve into the past of Naruto and his relationship with Barbara when they were children, Jim and also his own parents. Mainly as a way to give Naruto inspiration to continue striving for his goal.**

**Guest: Thank you I'm glad you agree, I mean it makes sense that anime characters that came from that universe are the same. But in reincarnations fics or alternate dimensions the characters are not the same. Take for example Naruto and Ashura. Naruto is Ashura's reincarnation and besides his desire to protect his precious people and being a prodigy of hard work, Naruto and Ashura are nothing alike, even though Naruto is the reincarnation of Ashura.**

**The reason why that is, is because of the different upbringings they had. A child raised in an abusive relationship compared to a child born in a loving family are completely different. Naruto from the anime is the former and Naruto from my story is the latter. Each have similar traits and characteristics, but it is their upbringings that make them fundamentally different. Never understood why people don't understand that, it's not that difficult to understand. **

**Guest: No, Barbara has not slept with Batman, I don't know where you got that from. Though I think you might mean Naruto, even if that is the case. The answer is still no, both Naruto and Barbara have not had sex with anyone just yet.**

**Djberneman: Yes, you're right. But I wanted to show that while smart (smarter than his anime self), he is still human and prone to make mistakes. Naruto's mistake here was getting overconfident and arrogant. Because of that, Black Mask slipped through his fingers and got away.**

**Striker13kill: No, when Naruto gets his powers he will change his name. In fact, Naruto will go by a number of names as he goes through life and facing different hardship. Each name will be a symbol of what exactly he is going through and will change as he does as well.**

**Andrew10458: I'm sorry, but yes. That is the case though it will go to KCM Naruto when it reaches Eight Tails. The Nine Tails form will be his Tailed Beaat Mode (Bijū Mode). Sorry if that isn't what you want, but it will fit in with the story.**

**I have considered the Rikudo buff and I might add it in much later on in the story when, but that will have to wait because right now it's a matter of finding a way to make it happen without it being a mess or stupid. I don't want to go, Naruto now has his Rikudo buff, how? Because I say so. I want to make it believable and not just a gift from Hagoromo.**

**xSean: Believe me, I know. First couple of baddies will have things like that happen. But as the story progresses it will change to been more even fights, with Naruto being saved or being captured for nefarious reasons. Young Justice actually shows the story of Speedy (Roy Harper) been captured, and having a clone made of him.**

**As for the powers with no voice, yes. That is what I'm going for, but the heightened rage is going to be part of his powers. Imagine Naruto as the DC's hulk. The angrier he gets the stronger he becomes, but at the cost of his sanity. But unlike the Hulk, Naruto can retain the power he gains even when calm through constant training.**

**LoadingStuff: Thank you very much for that feedback and I hope you don't mind, but I actually going to borrow that reasoning as Batman's one. Batman will take the place as a sort of mentor, only briefly, but still a mentor for a short while. That reasoning you gave is perfect to give Naruto some sort of moral dilemma as he realises that killing criminals isn't as simple as that.**

**danielgillen29: In a way, yes, but also no. Injustice: The Path to Hell was originally meant to be one big story but when I realised that my story was going to be over three hundred plus chapters I decided to split it into a number of smaller books to make it more manageable and just less huge. As a result, I deleted the chapters and have being editing the old ones and uploading them again once more. The reason for this is because it's easier for me to know which edited chapters I have and haven't uploaded.**

**Cortax: The changes won't be huge and I apologise for that, it just makes it easier for me to know which of my earlier chapters I have and haven't updated while also giving me more time to fully flesh out the later chapters and allow me to keep a steady stream of chapters coming in.**

**SandaKagami: Yes, I'm sorry but deleting and then uploading the newly edited chapters is easier for me to know which ones I have and haven't uploaded. It also allows me to flesh out later chapters to keep a steady stream of chapters every fortnight coming.**

**LunaAnt: Not really as uploading the newly edited chapters is easier for me to know which ones I have and haven't uploaded. It also allows me to flesh out later chapters to keep a steady stream of chapters every fortnight coming. So I could have, but knowing me I would have completely forgot to upload the edited chapters or completely missed out one. **

**nliochristou: Don't worry my friend, that is the pairing. As for shadow clones, to be honest I'm shocked at how accurate that is. I actually had that planned so kudos to you. But yes, Naruto will have a limited number of shadows clones that when activated splits his power equally between them. If he goes one tails, then it's back to that partial form we saw at Wave. If he goes two tails he can't create two clones max with them at the same form. **

**Deacon Frost: No, this is my portrayal of how Naruto would act if he was raised in Gotham and had his parents in his early years. It confuses me as to why people believe that Naruto who isn't even raised in Konoha or gone through the same shit he did in Konoha would be the exact same in a different environment. Would you expect a twin that's abused compared to his twin who is showered with love and affection to be the same? No, because they're raised in different environments.**

**This is a similar look at how Naruto could be like if he was raised in Gotham by his parents and amongst criminals like Black Mask. So believe me, my Naruto's childhood is just as if not more fucked up than canon Naruto's. **

**Kid Coheed: I considered that, but I realised that introducing a whole new power system into DC was a bit silly. Especially considering we have magic which has shown the ability to be just as if not more destructive and versatile than chakra so I've decided to give him magic. His meta human ability will be his Kyūbi chakra but the history as to how he has it and where it comes from is something you might find interesting as it does have similar ideas as to what you put.**

**The Avenging Titan: I will have something similar to the Daredevil scene however, neither Batman nor Batgirl will be chained simply because Naruto is not good enough to do that to either just yet. However a verbal confrontation is coming. But I'm not trying to bash either, I fully understand where both are coming from and to be honest, in some ways I agree with Batman's no killing rule more than the Punisher ways of dealing with things. Not always but in some situations I have realised that saving a life is better than killing.**

**As a result, I'm going to try and find a balance for Naruto so his Punished/Red Hood mentality won't be permanent. He will change and mould as he comes to understand the world more and more.**

**Hope this clears up any questions you might have. If not please let me no in a review and I will answer them as best as I can. **


	4. Chapter IV - The End of Black Mask

**Injustice: The Path to Hell**

**Book 1: A Journeys Beginning.**

**Chapter IV – The End of Black Mask.**

**Before we begin I would like to inform you that the poll about the data sheets has been closed and the results are in. As you may or may not know, there is another chapter already posted, but it's not an actual chapter per say. In fact, in accordance with the poll, the data sheets will be posted on an additional chapter at the end of each arc. **

**So the next chapter is said data sheet and like I've said, I've gone into much more detail and even included a ranking that shows how all those characters that have appeared in this arc compare to one another. I'm sorry if that's not what you wanted but it won the poll and so that what's I'm doing.**

**Also, I've created a community that deals entirely with this universe and series of books. In it, it will include every book I write based in the Injustice universe and if you have any shrot stories or side stories you write then let me know and I'll put them in there as well. It can be spin-offs or those DC/Naruto cast reading stories. Any and all fics based on Injustice are welcome to be included in there so please let me know.**

"Normal Speech."

_'Normal Thought.'_

**"Demon Speech."**

**_'Demon Thought.'_**

_Location/Time_

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Saturday 21st, March, 11:30._

_New Jersey, _

_Gotham City,_

_East End._

Naruto traced the outline of his bruise that had formed upon his chest as result of Robins kick from last nights fight. He had checked it last night and he could have sworn that it was much bigger, but perhaps that was a trick of the light and maybe, he had suffered a head injury? He had received a number of head blows so it was likely because there was no way the bruise had reduced to just over half the size it was in the space of a few hours.

_'Maybe I have a healing factor? A superpower that allows me to heal quicker than a normal person?' _He chuckled lightly at the thought, absentmindedly pressing down upon the healed skin around the bruise as to test whether it was real or not. _'There's no pain, guess I really did just overestimate how big the bruise was.'_

Moving back towards his bed, he grabbed hold of his top and pulled it over his head. The muscles on his chest protested at the movement, but he ignored the pain as he had learned to do since a child.

Right now, he was out of commission for a couple of days.

That was both a good thing and a bad thing. He had realised after last night that he had grown too overconfident. The blonde knew he had overestimated his own abilities and underestimated his enemies and it had nearly been a fatal mistake that cost him his life.

These couple of days would allow him to not only recover, but to plan as well. As of yesterday, he had about three assault rifles, two submachine guns and four pistols with other five hundred rounds of assorted ammunition. Definitely enough to take out Black Mask.

But, as he had learned last night, Black Mask was far from defenceless and definitely not stupid. He had no doubt made it to a more secure location and would be using money to pay for new men to replace those that he had lost.

He didn't know what, but Naruto knew that when he went after Black Mask, the man would have a few surprises up his sleeve.

It's a good job that he had already reached out to a few people to keep an eye and ear out on anything remotely related to Black Mask. Already he had a few men and women reporting in mysterious activity in one of the abandon warehouses just on Gotham's outskirts. Far out of the way, giving him plenty of time to sneak in and kill Black Mask before Batman or someone else arrived to interfere.

Now though, Naruto would make sure he had some contingencies to use should something go down.

Opening the door to the main room of his apartment he was shocked to see Barbara stood there waiting for him. She was dressed like she normally did when coming round to his house to convince him to come out with her. Short skirt, white blouse and a small handbag slung over her shoulder. Her hair, the pale redness of it always being something he liked to look, especially as it seemed to get darker or lighter in certain lights was pulled back into a loose ponytail.

"Hey." She greeted awkwardly with a wave and a small, shy smile.

"H-hey." He greeted back, equally as awkward, confused as to why she was here. "Erm, not to sound rude, but what are you doing here?" He distinctly remembered her saying that she didn't want to have anything to do with him because she didn't know who he was. That had hurt the most out of everything she had said.

Barbara's eyes scrunched up as she looked anywhere but at him. "Yea." She muttered lowly, remembering her harsh words she had said to him and the argument they had. "I-I, I came to apologise."

"Apologise?" Naruto moved forwards, Barbara never once looking up to meet his eyes.

"Yes, I need to apologise." She looked up at him and raised one hand up to stop him from speaking when he opened his mouth. "I need to do this Naruto, I know that you always like to take the blame even when I'm in the wrong, but what I said." The redhead nibbled on her lips lightly and despite the tense situation, Naruto couldn't help but notice how attractive that was.

It was very distracting for his teenage mind and he couldn't help but want to kiss her. He didn't, yet the desire to do so was there.

"There is no excuse for what I said." Barbara finished after a few seconds of silence. "At the time, well I was just appalled by what the vigilante, Black Hood had done." Thankfully Barbara wasn't looking at Naruto or she would have seen him flinch slightly. "But looking back at it now, I know that you were just scared and angry at what happened to you."

She reached out and grasped one hand in both of her and he couldn't help but marvel at just how soft her hands were. Yet he could also feel the callouses on them. _'What did you do to get those?'_ He wondered.

"And I'm sorry." Barbara continued with her apology. "I should have known that you were lashing out at Batman and the others because they save people and when you needed saving, they weren't there. So I'm sorry and I'll keep on saying that until I make sure everything is right."

Naruto stared at her, looking at the sincerity in her eyes and he couldn't help but smile. "You didn't need to apologise." He said back, equally as quiet and she looked at him in surprise. "I know how much you look up to Batgirl and I admit that you were just defending her."

Barbara shook her head fiercely. "That doesn't make what I said to you right." She denied stubbornly.

"No, it doesn't." He agreed and she winced slightly, he always had been blunt and to the point. "But Barbara, I'm not going to stop being your friend or caring for you just because you said a few hurtful things. You're my friend, my best friend and nothing you do will change that, okay?"

"Okay." She smiled up at him and he returned it. Just seeing that smile of his seemed to make her feel ten times lighter and she realised just how much she had missed her best friend in the short time they had been separated. "So where you off too?"

"I was going to go get something to eat and then go to the gym." He stated, realising that she still hasn't let go of his hand and he had no intention of letting go of hers. "Do you want to join me for something to eat?"

"I've already had something to eat, but I'll come and get drink." Nodding his head, Naruto indicated towards the door and while she removed one hand from his, she kept her other firmly gripping hold his hand. "Where we going then?"

"Gotham Heights." Barbara nodded and after locking the door to his apartment, Naruto and Barbara made their way out onto the streets. It was relatively quiet, Black Hood's attack on Black Mask having caused quite a stir amongst the criminal circles of Gotham, especially in the East End.

Already the two of them could see that the number of people on the streets openly was only a small number in comparison to the people that would have usually been out at this time. "It's quiet." Barbara pointed out to try and strike up a conversation between her and Naruto.

It worked.

"Yea." Naruto agreed with a nod of his head, his eyes narrowing on a group of young men that leered at Barbara. They noticed his glare and only scoffed, but still turned away. "After last night most are trying to keep their heads down."

"Well, I for one am glad, even if they are overreacting a bit."

"What's you mean?" Naruto asked as he looked down at Barbara who shrugged.

"I mean, Black Hood's only focused on Black Mask and those working for him. So as long as they aren't working for Black Mask I doubt Black Hood will come after them. Even so, I'm glad they re overreacting because it makes your life easier." She explained and Naruto nodded his head in thought.

While what Barbara said was true, he still didn't like it. Sure it would give him time to fully recover from the beating he got last night at the hands of a Robin, but none the less, it meant the criminals were still out there and bidding their time. He didn't want that because it meant they could strike at any time. But right now, he needed to focus his attention of Black Mask.

The crime lord was already on the run, his influence all but gone and Naruto wasn't about to let up now. It was paramount to take his foot off the accelerator before driving up a ramp to clear a large distance. Take it off too early and you fail.

Naruto wasn't going to fail, not now when he was so close.

"Hey, you okay?" Leaning back away from Barbara's hand which was waving directly in front of his face, he looked to her in confusion. "So, you're back with me I see."

"Sorry, I've been distracted." Naruto shook his head. "You were saying?"

"I was asking if you were ever going to return to school. Are you?"

Naruto hummed in thought, even though both that his decision on the matter had already been made. "I doubt it, never really liked school in the first place and it's not like I'm gonna be able to do much with the grades I get. The numerous I've tried and failed at working at have proven that the East End doesn't have a good reputation. Nor does anyone from there."

"You do know that you could still try, right?" Barbara questioned and Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

"Possibly, but I don't see the point. Might as well try to get a few jobs here and there, earn some money and then move out of Gotham. Travel the world, see the sights. All that shit." To be completely honest, Naruto could do that now. While fighting Black Mask and tearing down his criminal empire, Naruto had helped himself to some of the money there as well. Not loads as that would draw too much attention if he suddenly was transferring millions into his bank account.

But a few thousand every now and then. The people at the banks and Jim knew about his history in the street fights, John the owner of the Underground Fighting Arena had even set him up with an accountant that would take them money and transferring to his bank account, no questions asked. However, that was only for a few thousand, a few million would draw questions from all the wrong places and Naruto didn't want that.

Even then, he may or may not have a couple of thousand stashed in various places in his apartment for emergency needs should the time arise.

"So you're gonna do it then? Travel the world?"

Naruto nodded his head. "Yea, eventually. I don't want to spend my entire life here in Gotham, I want to see what the world has to offer and not just…this." He indicated to an alleyway where they could see a prostitute getting railed by a middle aged, skinny guy. "I'm sick of it here, all this shit everywhere."

Barbara quickly looked away from the sight in disgust. There was just somethings she didn't want to see; ever. "Yeah, I always knew that you were talking a load of shit about how you liked it here. You didn't need to lie to me about that, you don't need to lie to me about anything."

_'Is she? Does she?'_ Naruto wondered, taking a few moments to stare at her warily. Did she know that he was Black Hood? Or did she only suspect? Or was he simply overreacting and she as talking about something else? "I know." He replied, a smile on his face, despite the moment of worry he felt. "And you know that you can tell me anything as well, don't you?"

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Sunday 22nd, March, 07:00._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_Gotham Heights._

Despite it being early morning on a Sunday, there was already quite a large number of people moving about Gotham Heights. Each intent on getting their plans for the day out of the way and complete.

Naruto was one such individual.

He moved through Gotham Heights and came to a stop outside a coffee shop, moving inside to take cover from the rain. Running a hand through his damp blonde hair, Naruto moved towards the counter ordering a cup of coffee as he turned to look around the shop. It was early morning and so there was a few people already inside, eating a small snack for breakfast before they headed to work.

His eyes landed on a slightly overweight, middle aged man in a tailored suit and slicked back black hair. No doubt the man had felt someone watching him and turned to see Naruto, his eyes widened slightly behind his glasses before he gave a stiff nod in his direction.

Naruto returned it slightly, taking the cup of coffee from the young waitress and moved towards the man.

"David, I'm guessing?" Naruto greeted as he sat down at the table.

The man across from him nodded, his eyes still showing signs of shock as he realised just how young the vigilante was. "I never expected you to be so young." David muttered in shock and Naruto gave a smirk.

"Yea." Naruto shrugged his shoulders, gently taking a sip from his still hot drink. "But don't get the wrong idea, I'm not Black Hood, I'm just the middleman. I wanted to help because like you know, kids aren't exactly off limits to thugs like Black Mask.." David winced at the mention of his young fifteen year old daughter who had been gang raped by a group of Black Mask's thugs. When he had heard about Black Hood and his vendetta against Black Mask, David had jumped at the chance to help the vigilante by reaching out to other people who's lived had been ruined or knew people who's lives had been ruined by Black Mask.

Using his moderate wealth and those people, David had managed to establish a small little communications network to help raise favour for the vigilante. And to provide said vigilante with information.

It was this group who had been keeping an eye out for anything to do with Black Mask.

Naruto had found out about this a few weeks ago and had reached out to David as Black Hood and organised this little meeting. Acting as the middleman, Naruto would meet with David and find out what information he and his little group of Black Hood supporters had found.

"Here." David placed an envelope on the table and pushed it towards Naruto. "Everything me and like minded people have found out." Naruto picked up the envelope and just as he went to leave, David stopped him. "Please, tell Black Hood to avenge my daughter. She's a sweet girl and she never deserved her fate, I want her to be safe and as long as Black Mask is out there, I'm afraid that she never will be."

"I will." Naruto nodded his head and David let go of him. "Black Hood has no intention of letting Black Mask live. Especially not after what he has done and allowed to happen in this city. His days are numbered."

David looked relieved and smiled sadly. "I'm glad." For the first time since Batman first arrived, David felt hope once more. Batman had proved that he was not going to kill, yet Black Hood was the opposite. He was willing to kill and David was fine with that. As long as he made Gotham a safe place for his daughter, David would always support Black Hood's actions, as would many people.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Tuesday 24th, March, 13:15._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_Gotham Academy._

Barbara looked out the window of Gotham Academy with a little smile on her face. It was safe to say that the past few days had been a stark difference from the past couple of weeks were she had been nothing short of depressed. She had never really understand how much Naruto had become part of her life, he had been there with her ever since they were kids and she really couldn't imagine life without him.

The past few weeks when she and Naruto had their argument and had gone their separate ways was difficult for her. On numerous occasions she had gone to call Naruto about something stupid that had gone on at school while berating him for not turning up and had also started walking towards Naruto's apartment subconsciously only to remember why she was angry with him.

Ever since they had made up, things were definitely much easier and actually made dealing with Gotham's true colours much easier. Sure, Black Hood was still out there and killing people, but she really couldn't find it in her to care as much as she had done when she had her best friend back.

In fact, they spent most of Saturday together when he got back from the gym and had met up Sunday and Monday as well.

They just did simple things, walking around Gotham Heights or spending time at each other's homes and just watching a movie or lounging around. Nothing different to their usual routine, but definitely something she had missed. Jim had certainly appreciated and enjoyed Naruto being back over again, the two having sat down to watch a baseball game together.

"Look it's Batman!" One of her classmates shouted as he looked out the window with wide eyes.

As a result of his exclamation everyone rushed to the window to get a look, effectively ignoring the teacher. Though she didn't seem bothered and in fact, moved over to look out the window and watch Batman.

Taking a look, Barbara saw Batman duck and weave around numerous strikes from a sludge looking creature in the form of grotesque and deformed man. _'Clayface? What is he doing here and attacking in broad day light?'_ Despite these questions running through her mind, Barbara rushed out of the room and finding a secluded area to get changed into her Batgirl costume.

Once that was done, she rushed out and launched numerous Batarangs towards Clayface's back. The man didn't notice, but Batman did and performed a backflip to avoid Clayface's wild strike, while launching his own Batarangs. They each beeped before exploding sending Clayface dropping to his knees.

"What the hells Clayface doing here?" Batgirl asked as she landed beside Batman, who never took his eyes off Clayface.

"Found him robbing a bank." Was Batman's short reply and that surprised Batgirl. Clayface wasn't exactly known for robbery, more just attempted murder of the cast and crew who had had tried to recreate an old horror movie he had starred in with a new actor in the role. An odd reason to make someone turn to murder, but then again, not everyone needed a tragic backstory.

"Okay." Batgirl replied as she turned to face Clayface before both her and Batman rushed forwards to take him out. But they both felt like something else was going on, especially with Clayface pulling a stunt like this so soon after his last bout with Batman.

Batman quickly took the lead being the faster of the two and Clayface instantly swung his left arm around, his claylike body changing the limb to be similar to that of a whip. Batgirl who had trailed behind, used Batman's back as a springboard to leap other his back.

Clayface watched her, his gaze following her form as it landed on the ground and went to strike her only for Batman to come up, a metal gauntlet around each hand the buzzed with electricity. He swung one fist round and Clayface roared out in pain as electricity chorused through his body. Another two blows came round and struck Clayface's body forcing Basil backwards.

Directly onto the spot where Batgirl had placed two freeze pellets.

As soon as Clayface stepped onto them, they shattered and encased his feet in a layer of ice. Stuck there, Clayface attempted to free himself only for his head to whip backwards as Batman landed another punch his jaw, electricity once again coursing through his body.

Growling angrily, Basil thrust both hands, the ends solidifying in maces. While Batman managed to leap back in order to avoid the mace sent his way, Batgirl wasn't so lucky and was clipped in the side.

However, as Batman avoided the first one, Basil used this opportunity to swing the mace round that had struck Batgirl to try and strike Batman. To avoid this, Batman had just barely touched the ground before having to jump back into the air, using his hands to push down on Basil's mace hand to go further into the air.

While in midair it left him vulnerable for Clayface's follow up strike as his right hand extended further, the mace dissolving and carried Batman into the ground. Grunting only slight pain at the rough landing, Batman struggled against the muddy grasp Clayface had against him only for him to be unable to escape, the mud further crawling up his body and hardening.

Getting up with a groan, Batgirl shook her head and looked to see Clayface had trapped Batman and sprung into action. From her utility belt she threw a single Batarangs that embedded into Clayface's hardened forearm and exploded.

With this distraction, Batman was able to break free from Clayface's grasp all the while Batgirl manoeuvred quickly to avoid Clayface's strikes.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Tuesday 24th, March, 13:15._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_Outskirts._

"Man, this is so dull." One guard complained as he looked across at the rooftops across him.

"Quiet!" One of the other guards snapped. "Black Hood could turn up at any time so stop fucking complaining and keep an eye out." As the guard turned away, he missed the face the thug he had been berating pulled. However, he paused when he noticed the roof unusually quiet and empty.

There should be at least another three guys on here yet he couldn't see anyone else.

A thump behind him made him spin to see the guy had dropped to the ground. Eyes widening in shock as he realised what this meant he scrambled for his radio but it was too late as a bullet tore through the air and then his head.

Lowering his gun from where he had stood in the alleyway, Naruto moved quietly across the yard, entering the warehouse and looked around the area. He could see a few cars parked here and there, with a large group of thugs gathered around in the centre, joking and laughing.

Up above, he could also see a few men walking along metal rafters on guard duty, nursing assault rifles as they looked down at the ground. Basically making it impossible to move without being seen. _'Looks like I'm going to have to do this the hard way.' _It was a shame that the warehouses windows had been boarded up with wood, it made it impossible to see inside and see which room held Black Mask.

The good thing though, was that it made it impossible for the goons inside to see who was coming apart from a few guys on the roof. Those guys had been dealt with easily with a few well-placed shots to the head.

Then it was a simple task of rigging a few pounds of explosive on each exit with a trip wire system. The only way in or out safely was through the exit he just came through and Black Mask would find him waiting.

Moving behind cover, Naruto pulled his M4 Carbine from his back and reached to his side and pulled out a grenade. Taking off the pin, Naruto rolled it underneath cars straight towards the group of thugs that were too busy drinking. He was honestly surprised that Black Mask was allowing his men to drink like this.

At the same time, Black Hood raised his M4 with a newly attached silencer and began firing up at the men on the metal platforms. It took Black Masks guards a few seconds to realise they were under attack and by that point he had already killed the guards closest to him.

"Fuck!" One guard yelled as they began to look towards his position.

"It's Black Hood!"

"Kill him!" They were but a few shouts of shock as they realised that the man that had been hunting their boss had not only found their location, but was killing their fellow men with ease.

This shock only lasted a few moments before they began to pull out guns. Just before they could open fire, the grenade rolled to a stop at the foot of one guard who looked down to see what had touched his foot.

"Oh fu-"

The grenade exploded and the guards screamed out in pain as their bodies were ripped apart. Blood and body parts flew across the room leaving a bloody mess as those guards above looked down in shock.

This cost them as Naruto, who had been prepared for such an explosion continued to fire at the guards who quickly found themselves numbering no more than four.

At this point though, Naruto had run out of bullets and ducked behind a car, slowly reloading as bullets colliding with the car he was hiding behind. Clicking his magazine into place, he quietly and stealthily manoeuvred to a different position and fired up at the guards once more.

This time he only managed to take out one guard before a bullet struck his shoulder and sent him falling to the ground. "Fuck!" Naruto cursed as he pulled out the bullet that was stuck into his bulletproof suit.

"Take Black Mask and leave." Naruto heard a man speak as the firing stopped. "I'll deal with the kid."

He didn't need to hear the confirmation as he saw through the car window as the guards rushed to another part of the warehouse. His eyes then landed on the figure who had spoke and saw a man wearing a red and black combat suit with a white mask covering his face. Attached to either arm was what looked to be guns with a heavily modified gun held in both hands.

The most catching feature though, was the circular, red lens covering his right eye.

That was the last thing he managed to see before the window exploded in a shower of broken glass due to the man firing at Naruto. Cursing once more, Naruto ducked behind cover and moved to the right side of the car and fired at where the man once stood.

"Ha! Nice one, kid!" The man exclaimed while easily moving out of the way of the bullets and firing back at Naruto.

_'Fucking hell, this guys aim is insane!' _Naruto thought in wonderment and a little bit of fear as he just barely avoided the bullets. Just as his opponents hail of bullets stopped, Naruto turned around and began fire up into the platform only for it to be empty.

It was only due to his senses screaming at him to move, that Naruto managed to dive and roll to a stop behind another car as it exploded in a shower of flames. Even then, it was not fast enough to avoid a bullet that skimmed his arm.

Realising that it was nothing more than a superficial wound, Naruto looked over the side of the car to try and find his opponent only to hear the sound of boots standing on a car. Turning to his right, he saw the man pointing his wrist-mounted guns at him and released a spray of bullets that Naruto narrowly avoided, while at the same time emptying the last of his clip over his shoulder at the man.

"You got some skills, kid!" The man congratulated as there was a small lull of peace in the short gunfight. "I can see why Black Mask has been struggling with you."

"Am I meant to take that as a compliment?" He called back, seeing this as an opportunity to stall for time, which he used to reload his M4 and listen out for any sign of where his opponent was. He had a vague idea, but it wasn't concrete which made Naruto uneasy. Whoever the guy was skilled, extremely so, possibly better than Robin and definitely better than him.

Which mean he would have to pull out all the stops to just survive, let alone win.

"Yep." The man quipped. "Names Deadshot, kid. Not sure if you've heard of me, but I'm one of the best in the business of killing."

Naruto chuckled while, quietly reloading his gun. "Deadshot? That your code name or some shit."

"No more than Black Hood is yours." Deadshot, aka Floyd Lawton replied. "Got the name because I never miss, every bullet I fire is a kill shot. Hence, Deadshot."

"Yea, well you might want to change your name." Naruto peaked underneath the car only to not be able to to see anything due to the body of the dead thugs getting in the way. "You've fired quite a few bullets and I'm still alive."

"Ha!" Deadshot laughed, shaking his head at finally meeting someone who wasn't all serious. "I knew there was a reason I liked you kid. Got some serious potential, ain't afraid to kill and not afraid to talk shit with your enemies. Shame I gotta kill you."

"Who's says I'm gonna die here? I don't." Naruto shot back. "Say, how much is Black Mask paying you and how much would I have to pay you to make you switch sides?"

"Black Mask? Seven million." Naruto eyes widened in shock at the number before he laughed. Who knew Black Mask was that desperate to kill him.

"Now doesn't that just make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside." The blonde dryly replied.

Deadshot grinned behind his mask as he finished reloading his wrist mounted guns, he could hear the kid moving into a different position. He may be good at this stealth thing, but against Batman he might as well be stomping his feet. Not only that, but every time he spoke his voice would move with it.

Still, he would give the kid props for not just sitting there and talking shit like some cocky newcomers do. Hell, Floyd had also moved to a different position.

"You still want to know how much you'd have to pay to make me switch sides? After all, it'd be a shame to kill you." Floyd received an affirmative from Black Hood. "Usually I'd charge double, but for you I'll only charge ten point five million. You got that much?"

Naruto groaned at that, it looked like he would have to fight his way out. "Do you think I'd still be hiding if I had that much?!" He shouted before looking around for anything he could use.

"Well, it's gonna be a shame to kill you, but that's life." Deadshot replied and Naruto nodded, though the mercenary couldn't see it.

"Yea." He drawled. "It's been nice knowing you, but at least I'll be able to say I killed Deadshot!"

Deadshot laughed once more. "Good luck with that." Then he became serious as the atmosphere in the warehouse became tense. It was then that Naruto noticed Deadshot's foot behind a car, it had actually only being pure luck that allowed him to notice it and Naruto spun round, firing at the glass window.

Feeling broken glass peppering his back, Deadshot rolled and fired in the direction of where the bullets were coming from.

But Naruto had already moved and threw a grenade at the car and Deadshot took a running jump. He was still caught in the blast and slammed into another truck with a grunt of pain, but his suit absorbed most of the damage.

Getting to his knees, Deadshot noticed Black Hood rushing up the stairs and fired right at the vigilante making him curse and drop to the ground and avoid the bullets that peppered the wall above him. With his task of stalling the vigilante complete, Deadshot got to his feet and began really aiming for the body of his target.

Naruto had to only feel three bullets slam into his side before he realised that laying down wasn't doing him any good. Deadshot's aim was ridiculously accurate to the point it was absurd. He could feel numerous bullets just barely missing thanks to Naruto crawling up the stairs and a few caught him in the side. Plus, Naruto couldn't fire back without presenting himself as even more of a target for Deadshot to fire at. With how much of his body that was just barely escaping been littered with bullets, it was safe to say that Deadshot would make quick work of him if he tried to fire back.

Still he was mere inches away from the body of a guard, grabbing hold of it, he pulled it down and used it as a shield. Bullets peppered into the body, yet Naruto finally managed to get to his feet and began looking around.

Right now, he was at a disadvantage.

Their current long range to mid range battle favoured Deadshot far too heavily. Naruto had hoped to get to higher ground as to give him some form of advantage, yet that had backfired heavily. Even the grenade he had thrown had stalled Deadshot for only a few seconds instead of a minute or two like he had hoped.

He didn't know how durable his suit was, but it was definitely strong enough to withstand being caught in an explosion. However, there must be some weak point to it that Naruto could exploit and he was betting all his money on either the neck, armpits, inner thighs or other areas of that sort that required the mercenary to be able to move freely. This though, required him to close the distance between the two of them.

And by the fact that Deadshot had switched to his modified assault rifle and also using his wrist-mounted machines guns to keep Naruto in one place. It was safe to say that closing the gap was going to be very difficult.

Not impossible.

But extremely difficult. Getting injured was a definite which would make close quarters combat that much more difficult.

_'This is just fan-fucking-tastic.'_ Naruto snarked mentally as the second arm of the guy dropped to the ground, torn off by the numerous bullets coming his way. _'I had thought that maybe I would be more prepared for anything Black Mask might throw my way, but I didn't expect a guy like this to turn up. I really need to get more information on guys like him. Especially, if I could come up against them at some point.'_

His eyes then landed on the light that was coming from one of the boarded windows.

_'Oh thank god.'_ He could almost cry out with relief when he saw a way out. _'I can use this.'_ His eyes landed on the door a few metres to the left and on the bottom floor. _'Oh yes, I can definitely use is to my advantage._'

Naruto didn't know if lady luck was on his side, but some other worldly being must love him because the door beneath him so happened to be wired with explosives.

The plan he came up with was simple. The wood was not of the best quality and seemed to be rotting in some places, the bullet holes only worsened the condition of the wood. He would jump through the wood and grasp hold of the ledge, wait for Deadshot to run out and trigger his explosive. At the same time he would fire down at the body of Deadshot just to make sure that he was dead before pulling himself back into the warehouse and then go onto deal with Black Mask.

That was the plan.

As soon as a pause came from Deadshot, Naruto began firing at the mercenary while rushing to the window.

Just as he had jumped through the air, a bullet slammed into his back and instead of being stopped by his bulletproof armour, it ripped right through it, his body and out the other end. Shocked by this, Naruto slammed into the wall and collapsed into the ground and his fall was broken by landing on numerous crates, each one breaking underneath his weight and gravity working to pull him down.

Groaning in pain, Naruto moved to hold his wound. There wasn't a load of blood, nor was there any sign of it piercing an internal organ. That was good, it meant that he wouldn't die.

"Give up, kid." Deadshot moved forward, his modified assault rifle aimed at Naruto's head. "You're done." Instead, Naruto shakily rose to his feet and presented one hand to show that dangling from one hand was a pin.

Deadshot's eyes widened in shock and moved back to put some distance between him and Naruto, at the same time the blonde leaped forwards after him. That's when the grenade exploded, the tower of boxes that had broken Naruto's fall exploding outwards sending large spikes of wood out, piercing cars due to the sheer force behind them.

By some miracle, none of the large pieces of wood struck Naruto or Deadshot as they were only peppered with smaller fragments. However, Naruto was picked up, the explosive force of the grenade pushing him forwards quicker than he could actually move himself.

Just like he had planned.

Deadshot who had lifted one of his wrist-mounted guns to shot at Naruto, was suddenly caught off-guard as Naruto closed the distance between them in a fraction of a second. One hand, slapping his wrist back down and Deadshot was left defenceless as Naruto slammed a powerful punch into his jaw.

Head whipping back, Deadshot went with the momentum and rolled across the ground, his modified gun rolling across the ground away from him.

Even then, Naruto was on him and threw a roundhouse kick that Deadshot only just managed to block in time. This left him exposed to the front kick that struck his chest and once again, he rolled across the ground to try and put some distance between him and Naruto. But just like before, Naruto was on him once more.

Scrambling to his feet, Deadshot parried a straight jab with his right hand and with his left, lined up his wrist-mouthed machine gun. Naruto on the other hand, had predicted this and gripped it with his free hand while swing his other hand round to slam and elbow into Deadshot's jaw.

As Deadshot stumbled away, Naruto moved after while simultaneously unsheathing one of his knives. He slashed them quickly through the air and to his annoyance, Deadshot managed to dodge his attacks easily enough.

In the midst of their confrontation, Naruto pulled out his second knife and came at Deadshot with increased ferociousness. Yet despite all that, Deadshot continued to weave in between his blows with ease, masterfully avoiding every strike with trained ease and occasionally parrying those blows that were getting a little too close for comfort.

As Naruto came down to stab Deadshot in the shoulder, the man in question rose one hand to grip his wrist, stopping it dead in its track. When Naruto went to stab into his opponents side, it was once again stopped when Deadshot clamped his other hand around Naruto's wrist leaving the blonde in quite an awkward position.

While Deadshot had his arms comfortably on either side of his body, Naruto on the other hand had his arms crossed over and so, unable to exert as much force.

Something Deadshot used of his advantage as he drew Naruto to him and head butted Naruto in the head.

Grunting, he stumbled temporarily dazed and Deadshot used this opportunity to finally open fire. A number of bullets embedded into Naruto's bulletproof vest and the force would have already knocked him on his backside, the fact that a a few bullets struck his legs only quickened the process.

"You did good, but I'm afraid this is where it ends." Deadshot informed, short of breath after the exchange he just had with Black Hood.

"Well done, Deadshot." Clapping came from up above and Naruto and Deadshot turned to see Black Mask walking down the steps, flanked by his four remaining guards. "Well done indeed."

"Black Mask!" Naruto spat out and got to his feet, Deadshot turned to face Naruto once more, but he made a mistake and got to close to Naruto. With a bloody grin, he smacked the gun to one side and pulled out his knife and stabbed it into Deadshot's side, right into the gap between two of the more burly parts of his armour.

His aim was good and the force behind it more so. For you see, Deadshot's armour was not made of Kevlar and was simply made of other highly-resistant and durable materials woven together. Parts of this armour were very thick and other parts were weaker as to allow more manoeuvrability.

Naruto just so happened to stab his knife right into one of those areas and Deadshot let out a shout of pain.

Black Mask and his thugs went to fire at Naruto only for one of the boarded windows to be broken apart as the shadowy figure of Batman descended onto the ground. The four guards realising the more dangerous individual, fired at Gotham's Dark Knight.

Naruto on the other hand kneed Deadshot and threw him into a car while pulling out one of his guns and aiming it at the person he had been trying to kill all these weeks. "Black Mask!" He shouted and the man turned to look at Naruto in shock and then the gun fired.

A single bullet rippled through the air and struck Black Mask dead centre in between his eyes. With wide eyes and blood pooling from the headshot, Black Mask fell to the ground unable to comprehend that he was dead.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Tuesday 24th, March, 13:35._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_Gotham Academy._

Barbara performed numerous backward handsprings, narrowly avoiding the many spiked projectiles thrown her way by Clayface. Each one was sharp and embedded deeply into the ground and would have no doubt skewered her completely had they hit.

Landing in a crouch, she rolled to one side and launched two Batarangs that struck the ground at Clayface's feet. He didn't see them of course, he had been focused on Batman at the moment. The grotesque form that once belonged to an actor had changed his hands into that of a very sharp looking scythe (left hand) and a large hammer (right hand). He swung them around with no skill, instead hoping to land one powerful strike that would finish the caped crusader off once and for all.

Batman however, expertly dodged and after landing on Clayface's hammer, used that as a platform to backflip away into the air.

Before Clayface could do anything though, he noticed the many bat shaped objects sticking into his body that all exploded. This alone would not have done much, his bodies unique constitution meant the explosives could only stall him. But this was exactly what Batman wanted as it stalled him long enough for Batgirls Batarangs to also explode loosening the ground at the villains feet, sending him stumbling to the ground.

Both mentor and sidekick whipped out there heavily modified tasers that struck Clayface's body. A normal taser can peak at around fifty thousand volts, this taser however peaked at ten times that number. The perfect amount necessary to knock Clayface out for good, the only problem was that it was a one time use only and so, they had to be sparing in when they used it.

Therefore, when the electricity actually ran through the conductive wire and came into contact with Clayface's body, the man turned creature roared out in pain before slumping to the ground unconscious. His body slowly pooling out on the floor into a muddy puddle.

With a sigh, Batgirl moved towards Batman who was studying the unconscious body of Clayface closely. "Can you handle this, I need to, you know?"

"Go." Batman replied shortly.

"Okay, thanks." With that, Batgirl disappeared from the scene and back to school leaving Batman to watch as the police cautiously began to move Clayface's body into a specific holding container he had designed for the police.

_'What were you up to, Basil Karlo? What were you aiming to achieve?'_ Before Batman could think further on this, his comm began beeping. "What have you got?"

"Reports of gunfire from the outskirts have come in." Alfred stated calmly, as Batman turned to face Clayface once more.

"When did they first get reported?"

"I do believe, it was a few moments after miss Gordon joined into assist you with Clayface, sir." Batman's eyes narrowed, he was far too smart to believe in just coincidence, especially with something like that. "Sir?"

"Whereabouts in the outskirts?" Batman growled out as he pressed a button upon his suit to call for the Batwing.

"North West in one of the abandoned warehouses, I have already locked the location into the Batwing." Nodding his head, Batman used the grappling hook to get onto a nearby building and ran in the direction of the outskirts. His Batwing would come for him first, might as well make the journey quicker.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Tuesday 24th, March, 14:00._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_Outskirts._

Batman looked down at the dead body of the Black Mask with a grim frown. It seems that Black Hood had finish what he set out to achieve. He had already looked around the warehouse and found numerous bodies, or what remained of them anyway. He may have killed Black Mask, but Black Hood had not been clean or had found it easy.

Even now, after only arrived little more than ten minutes ago had deduced what had happened.

But it was very clear to Batman that Black Hood was getting better and better. Robin had described his fight with Black Hood and had said that he had dominated the fight, but a few days later, Black Hood had gone on to fight Deadshot and live to tell the tale. It definitely, showed that Black Hood had improved in those short number of days.

Speaking of Deadshot and Black Hood.

He couldn't find them anywhere. He had spotted two sets of tracks, one leading east and one west. The one going east he knew was to be Deadshot's and was no doubt gone to the wind and somewhere safe. That meant that Black Hood had gone west and it seemed he had not been alone. He could make out tyre tracks and Batman knew that someone had been here to help Black Hood get a quick getaway.

_'He's definitely getting better.'_ Batman thought as he looked at the destruction in the warehouse and then his eyes landed on the crates, more specifically the blood coating some of them. _'Knowing Floyd, then it seems Black Hood did not escape unharmed and is injured.'_

The blood trail going west also helped Batman come to that conclusion as well.

"Alfred." He spoke to his butler over the radio. "Scan the records of the hospital and look for anyone that has come in recently or should do in the next day with a bullet wound." He did not expect Black Hood to go to a hospital, but it didn't hurt to be safe.

Moving forwards, Batman took a sample of the blood and then moved out to his Batwing.

**A/N: There we go, the end of the Black Mask Arc, I had planned to split this into five chapters. But I realised that where I had planned to split this chapter into two parts would make them both very short. Plus, I already ended my last two chapters on a cliffhanger and I wanted to wrap this arc up.**

**Next we get into the second Arc and I'm looking forward to getting into this one. And hopefully you will as well. There's definitely going to be more mystery elements and misdirection as one should expect from a Batman enemy.**

**Now onto the questions:**

**Kyle Vittoria: A little with Demons being a common thing in the DC universe giving him something like the Mukoton could be extremely OP and yea, I know there are some seriously OP characters in DC, but believe me, Naruto is going to become every bit as strong as them.**

**Guest: I'm not so sure about Kurama, I might do but I'm not sure. As for the Red Lantern Ring, I have definitely thought of that and it's possible but it all depends on how the story progresses. I'm not just going through in a Red Lantern Ring, randomly. **

**AnimeIsLife0407: Yea, it is Jim. I'll probably do a flashback later on, but I never liked using flashbacks at the start of a fic, especially not on the first arc. To me, the first arc or two of the story should be getting to know who the character is NOW, and then in the arcs after that then you can start incorporating flashbacks as to show how the character has grown and changed. **

**Also yes, I'm going for the non-kid friendly backstory of Starfire and that's why her relationship between Naruto and Koriand'r will be so important to them both. The poll looks like it will be NarutoxBarbaraxKorixKara and while I've already established the relationship between Barbara and Naruto. The relationship between Naruto and Koriand'r will be one of them looking to each other to share their hardships and comfort one another.**

**DepressedNinja75: I'm not going to go full dark like Batman v Superman or the DCEU in general. But it will be gritty with some light/fluffy moments and some very dark and awful moments as well. So expect a more realistic portrayal of a world filled with superheroes without any of the pure angst and emo vibes of the DCEU.**

**Also yes, Naruto will develop a bit of prankster side later on as a means to cope with the hardships of the world. As we all know, constantly facing the truth of the world causes people to develop odd quirks, Naruto's will be his laid back and prankster outlook on life.**

**Vizard890: He will yes, but Naruto won't be joining the League of Shadows. Someone else will come along to help Naruto build up his fighting skills and it's not Batman. But it is one of Batman's enemies.**

**Andrew10458: It's going to be like the cloak of version 1 where he doesn't turn into an animal. However, the eight tails version of his cloak will be Kyūbi Chakra Mode and his nine tails cloak will be the Tailed Beast Mode with the ability to turn into Kurama probably. There will be links to Demons with his powers, but there will be no demon sealed inside of him. More like a human gifted the power of a Demon.**

**Guest: I might do, I'm not sure the main timeline for the Young Justice will be the TV series and I won't be going through all the episodes. There will be mentions to some, but it's the main ones that show how the Light are working to combat the Justice League. **

**Thank you for clearing that up, I sometimes get confused on whether its Laughing Joke or Killing Joke.**

**As for the pairing. I've made a poll and right now a harem is what it's looking like. I'm sorry if that's not what you want, but if the vast majority want it to be a harem then that's what I'm going to do.**

**reader0007: I agree about the protagonist and don't worry, Naruto will become strong on his own and about the fifth arc in is when he receives his powers. As for his chakra, I agree. It's going to be very difficult to give Naruto his old powers and fit him into the DC universe without having to nerf him completely or making him ridiculously OP too early in the story.**

**That's why his signature technique the Rasengan will appear but it will not be created through magic but something else. However, it's very likely that Naruto will have magic simply because that can be used to harm Superman and eventually the two will come to blows and he needs that edge to fight against him. Also, magic can recreate similar techniques to the Narutoverse ones, but there will be differences.**

**Panther-Strife: If Naruto was to suffer a mortal wound to the heart as he was now, he would die. Later on he could survive for a little while and if he didn't get treated with magic or something like that he would die as well. As for Match from YJ, no sorry. Naruto is going to become extremely powerful as in one of the strongest beings in the DC universe eventually comparably to guys like Trigon, Superman and Darkseid, he won't need things like that.**

**As for appearance wise, I'm not overly bothered by how you imagine them, I don't really want to set a precedent one what they look like because some people might find certain appearances better looking or less so than others. As a result, I explain the main features like skin colour, hair colour and eye colour, give a hint to their outfit but never anything more allowing you as the reader to choose which appearance you want. The only time this will change is when I personally describe an outfit or appearance as that's a result of changes I have made.**

**Dopeenight: I'm improving grammar, improving fight scenes and in some areas I'll be adding new scenes or paragraphs as to make the story flow a little bit better or to link to later chapters. The reason I deleted my chapters was because it made things easier for me to know which of the edited chapters I have and have not already uploaded. But I'll be back to updating new stories soon.**

**Svenion: Chakra Chains is something I have considered and I might do something similar with it but not directly Chakra Chains, maybe have it link with two or more powers instead of being entirely separate. Naruto's going to have a lot of powers as most DC characters do, but I don't want to give him to many and instead make him work with his powers to create new things. So yes, they are a possibility.**

**goldshqipe: Its up to you, I'm not wanting to say this is the character design and this is what you must see when I talk about these characters. For the most every character except for Naruto can be based on your own personal preference whether it be comic book, animated, live action or game appearances. It's all up to which one you prefer. The only time this isn't the case is when I personally describe the outfit which there will b changes for a lot of people as the story progresses.**

**RubixJr: No, it's just I got really into Marvel, but then I got new story ideas for this one and a few others and just started writing them out. It's a bit of problem for me as I have a bit of an attention problem, I usually get distracted by new story threads all the time, so I usually get a good five or six chapters before I move on. So far this story is the one that's kept my attention for the longest so far.**

**Hope this clears up any questions you might have and if not, then please let me know and I'll answer them as best as I can. **


	5. Data Sheet I - Black Mask Arc

**Injustice: The Path to Hell**

**Character Profiles:**

**So, these data sheets are gonna be a little different to how they were before. I've included, age, height, weight, appearances as well as powers of each individual in order to flesh them out a little more. The strength, speed, durability, endurance, fighting skills and intelligence section is still going to have tiers going up to ten and four of them in total. However, intelligence and fighting skill will go up to twenty simply because it was getting difficult to show how things differ. Naruto was showing levels of intelligence equal to that of Batgirl when in fact, the only thing he had going for him was his tactical ability and not deductive reasoning when Batgirl had both.**

**To break the five mark you need simply basics in fighting skill and just average intelligence. To break ten you need intermediate skills in fighting, and either above average intelligence or good tactical ability. To break fifteen you'll need advanced fighting skills and a genius level intellect. As for reaching twenty you'll need master level martial arts skills and omniscience. It's as simple as that, or not really. **

**As for unique powers they are being ranked on a scale of one to ten. It basically looks at how versatile, how dangerous, how destructive and how many powers the individual has. For ten you'll need powers comparable to that of Darkseid. So yea, it could be subjects change and I might increase it to twenty depending on if I need to or not, if so I will go back and edit these earlier data sheets if thats the case.**

**Pre-Black Mask Arc.**

Name – Naruto Uzumaki.

Alias(s) – N/A.

Age – 16.

Height – 5"9.

Weight – 135 pounds.

Hair Colour – Blonde.

Eye Colour – Blue.

Powers:

N/A.

Data:

Strength – 5/40 (Human Tier).

Speed – 5/40 (Human Tier).

Durability – 5/40 (Human Tier).

Endurance – 9/40 (Human Tier).

Fighting Skills – 5/20.

Intelligence – 5/20.

(Unique Powers – 0/10).

Total – 34/200 (34/210).

**Post-Black Mask Arc.**

Name – Naruto Uzumaki.

Alias(s) – Black Hood.

Age – 16.

Height – 6"1.

Weight – 175 pounds.

Hair Colour – Blonde.

Eye Colour – Blue.

Powers:

N/A.

Data:

Strength – 7/40 (Human Tier).

Speed – 5/40 (Human Tier).

Durability – 6/40 (Human Tier)

Endurance – 10/40 (Human Tier).

Fighting Skills – 6/20.

Intelligence – 5/20.

(Unique Powers – 0/10).

Total – 39/200 (39/210).

-X-

Name – Barbara Gordon.

Alias(s) – Batgirl.

Age – 16.

Height – 5"5.

Weight – 126 pounds

Hair Colour – Red.

Eye Colour – Green.

Powers:

N/A

Data:

Strength – 6/40 (Human Tier).

Speed – 7/40 (Human Tier).

Durability – 5/40 (Human Tier).

Endurance – 8/40 (Human Tier).

Fighting Skills – 12/20.

Intelligence – 15/20.

(Unique Powers – 0/10).

Total – 53/200 (53/210).

-X-

Name – Bruce Wayne.

Alias(s) – Batman.

Age – 31.

Height – 6"2.

Weight – 210 Pounds.

Hair Colour – Black.

Eye Colour – Blue.

Powers:

N/A.

Data:

Strength – 10/40 (Human Tier).

Speed – 10/40 (Human Tier).

Durability – 10/40 (Human Tier).

Endurance – 10/40 (Human Tier).

Fighting Skills – 20/20.

Intelligence – 19/20.

(Unique Powers – 0/10).

Total – 79/200 (79/210).

-X-

Name – Richard Grayson.

Alias(s) – Robin.

Age – 13.

Height – 5"2.

Weight – 90 Pounds.

Hair Colour – Black.

Eye Colour – Blue.

Powers:

N/A.

Data:

Strength – 5/40.

Speed – 7/40.

Durability – 5/40.

Endurance – 7/40.

Fighting Skills – 12/20.

Intelligence – 15/20

(Unique Powers – 0/10).

Total – 51/200 (51/210).

-X-

Name – Basil Karlo.

Alias(s) – Clayface.

Age – 33.

Height – N/A.

Weight – 180 Pounds.

Hair Colour – N/A.

Eye Colour – N/A.

Powers:

\- Density Control.

\- Elasticity.

\- Size Alteration.

\- Superhuman Durability.

\- Superhuman Strength.

Data:

Strength – 17/40 (Enhanced Tier).

Speed – 6/40 (Human Tier).

Durability – 19/40 (Enhanced Tier).

Endurance – 8/40 (Human Tier).

Fighting Skills – 5/20.

Intelligence – 7/20.

(Unique Powers – 2/10).

Total – 64/200 (66/210).

-X-

Name – Floyd Lawton.

Alias(s) – Deadshot.

Age – 34.

Height – 6"1.

Weight – 202 Pounds.

Hair Colour – Brown,

Eye Colour – Brown.

Powers:

N/A.

Data:

Strength – 9/40 (Human Tier).

Speed – 8/40 (Human Tier).

Durability – 8/40 (Human Tier).

Endurance – 8/40 (Human Tier).

Fighting Skills – 18/20.

Intelligence – 11/20.

(Unique Powers – 0/10).

Total – 62/200 (62/210).

-X-

Name – Roman Sionis.

Alias(s) – Black Mask.

Age – 35.

Height – 6"2.

Weight – 205 Pounds.

Hair Colour – N/A.

Eye Colour – Brown.

Powers:

N/A.

Data:

Strength – 7/40 (Human Tier).

Speed – 5/40 (Human Tier).

Durability – 6/40 (Human Tier).

Endurance – 5/40 (Human Tier).

Fighting Skills – 15/20.

Intelligence – 13/20.

(Unique Powers – 0/10).

Total – 51/200 (51/210).

**There we have it, a pretty good look at how all these characters compare to one another and how far Naruto needs to go. And thanks to the increase in intelligence and fighting skill it also buffs up Batman's numbers allowing you to see just how dangerous he really is. Something my old data sheets didn't really show as we got further into the story and more and more powerful figures made their appearance. **

**Rankings:**

**Before we begin, I would like to clarify how I've made my rankings. I have taken into account numerous other rankings from other people online as well as looking at the data profiles I have made on them. I also took into account their powers and the limits as well as who they've beaten and how convincing those fights. If, say Deadshot had beaten Batman and it was a very equal fight, but then later on Batman fights Deadshot and wins easily (I know this could be down to the simple difference of opinions for the authors), however that will play a part in these rankings.**

**If the positioning of one of the characters doesn't agree with you then feel free to let me know why, but unless your extremely convincing and actually provide reasons beyond "you think" or simply because he/she's your favourite character then this ranking does not change. **

**To clear up why, the universe in which my world takes place isn't in Earth-16 (the actual Young Justice world) nor is it in Earth-Prime, Earth-One, etc. This is my entirely own universe so if you don't like the ranking of my characters, then simply look at it as this, this is a different universe and out there your character could be number one even if there like, Green Arrow. There is a whole multiverse out there and these rankings I have made are the ones for this universe, don't like them then tough.**

**Now, onto the rankings:**

1\. Bruce Wayne/Batman.

2\. Floyd Lawton/Deadshot.

3\. Basil Karlo/Clayface.

4\. Barbara Gordon/Batgirl.

5\. Richard Grayson/Robin.

6\. Naruto Uzumaki/Black Hood.

7\. Roman Sionis/Black Mask.

**So yes, these are the rankings of all those that appeared in this arc. What I will be doing I putting rankings like these in the data sheets in order to let you know where Naruto stands in terms of power at the end of that arc. I will also be doing one big ranking at the end of the story that shows a big timeline as to how Naruto's progression affects the rankings while including everyone that has made an appearance in this first book. Trust me, it's gonna be big.**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed this and thank you again.**


	6. Chapter V - The Fearless

**Injustice: The Path to Hell**

**Book 1: A Journey's Beginning.**

**Chapter V – The Fearless.**

**WARNING - PLEASE READ THIS AUTHORS NOTE.**

**Now I have being receiving a few reviews and messages asking me why I don't just label this as an OC that has no links to Naruto. Quite a few have used a very 'colourful' vocabulary and where pretty much telling me how shit I am. I'm fine with that, like I've said before if you're just going to insult me all you're doing is showing how pathetic and immature you are, especially if you are doing it as a Guest. **

**That tells me that either you're too scared to put your work out there and so I ask you, what right does that give you to insult other people who are actually putting themselves out there? Or it means that you feel insecure about your own work and are scared of retaliation (not that I would because I wouldn't lower myself to your level) by not posting under your account and so once again I ask, what right does that give you?**

**Now for those of you who do not understand and insulted me for why Naruto is nothing like his anime self let me direct you to a review posted by one of my Guests that says that a different social environment does not mean that he will turn out exactly the same.**

**Now the Naruto of the Narutoverse was ostracised and neglected, but had Hiruzen, Teuchi, Ayame and Iruka to give him guidance. Other than that, Naruto was never abused physically and was never exposed to murder, rape, etc. If he has there has been no mention of it so I'm going off the basis that he hasn't.**

**When you think of Naruto the first things that come to mind are his desire to become Hokage and his desire to protect his precious people. After that you think of his love for Ramen, orange and his hotheaded and stubborn nature. **

**The Naruto of my universe was raised by loving parents and when they died that changed him to be a bit darker. However, instead of become full emo like Sasuke, Naruto had Barbara and Jim to help him get over their deaths. Then we have to take into account just how fucked up Gotham actually is. You're telling me that a Naruto Uzumaki who doesn't have a Demon in his stomach that makes people hate him, was raised by loving parents, lives in the fucked up city of Gotham is going to be the EXACT same as his anime self. Are you mad? **

**People act the way they do, become who they are is based on the environment around them just as much as the people. Look at a child raised in an abusive environment compared to a child raised in a loving one. They act and view things completely different because of their ENVIRONMENTS, so to tell me that Naruto is nothing like his anime self despite me having mentioned numerous times that just like his anime self, he wants nothing more than to protect his precious people, that he is an insult to Naruto then go somewhere else. **

**I don't know how much I have to explain this to you but I have tried to created a realistic portrayal of how a Naruto raised in the slums of Gotham and exposed to its criminal underworld from a young age would act. **

**As for Naruto not being powerful. It's called CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, you will find it much harder to develop a character when they can just one shot a person instantly (not to say it's impossible because it can be done, but it's very rarely done well). People learn from their mistakes and failings, Naruto from the anime got his ass kicked a lot before becoming the Godlike being he is now. My Naruto will eventually reach similar levels of power and surpass them, but I'm pretty sure you would complain just as much at how UNREALISTIC it would be if Naruto went from weak to godlike in a single chapter. **

**So really if you're going to complain about my portrayal of Naruto then go watch the anime because you've made it clear that if Naruto doesn't love ramen, screams about becoming Hokage – despite their being no such thing in the DC universe – or wears an orange jumpsuit then he isn't Naruto even though people change. You look at yourself now and compare yourself to how you were when you were younger and you will find that you are different in many ways or maybe just a little, but you will change as you grow older.**

**If you read this little rant of mine even though you already like my portrayal of Naruto then I am sorry I'm just getting really annoyed with people not reading what I write and just jumping to conclusions based on no evidence or complaining for the sake of complaining.**

"Normal Speech."

_'Normal Thought.'_

**"Demon Speech."**

**_'Demon Thought.'_**

"Other Speech Variants."

_Location/Time_

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Tuesday 7th, April, 14:00._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_East End._

Gotham, like always was a dark and dingy place, even by the usual standards it looked no different. Yet despite this, the city seemed to be lighter or the people were anyway. In the space of two weeks, Gotham had changed after the death of Black Mask and the rise of Black Hood.

The people felt safer.

After all, despite Black Masks death creating a power vacuum that the other crime lords capitalised on, it did not result in all out war like many had expected and feared. In fact, things had been quieter, maybe it was because the crime lords didn't want to incur the wrath of both the Batman and Black Hood, or maybe it was for some other unknown reason.

Either way, things had changed and while some thought it was for the better. Ultimately, many believed that this peace, was currently the calm before the storm.

The many denizens of Gotham were just waiting for the next spark to light the fuse. A fuse that would bring about the deaths of many innocent lives before it was eventually stopped. It was this fear that caused many to start feeling more paranoid, just waiting for something bad to happen.

It didn't take a genius to see that despite all the good Batman had done, the fight against crime was still ongoing and while victory actually seemed possible, it was a long way away from now. Many feared that it would get far worse than it already was before it would get better, that it would be their children or their children's children that would live through the worst of it.

Even the smarter criminals could see this and even they were terrified. They knew that their actions had brought about both Batman and now Black Hood. If they continued, what other monsters would they create? The thought terrified them all, most into hiding as they tried to figure out their next move.

Of course, not every criminal was afraid of the heroes and vigilantes of Gotham.

"Help! Pleuumgh…" A woman screams for help quickly became muffled as cloth was stuffed into her mouth to silence her. She desperately tried to escape the grasp of her offenders as they laughed mockingly.

"Shut the fuck up, bitch!" One of the men sneered as he held her hands behind her back, his two friends groping her clothed body. "Hurry up, dickheads. I can't wait to get a piece of this ass." He laughed cruelly, while the woman struggled, tears streaming down her face as she screamed into her gag. Her eyes panned to the exit of the alleyway to see if she could find anyone that could help her, yet every time someone looked to see what the noise was, they quickly walked away, their heads quickly turning to the floor.

The old rules still applied, even now. Don't interfere or you and your family or next. It was ingrained rule that everyone had Gotham had learned in order to survive, a rule they still followed to this day.

As the moments passed by, the sound of her clothes tearing as her assailants grew impatient, she realised that it was hopeless.

No one was coming to help her.

Just as she was beginning to give up hope, she heard the sound of something hitting the nearby bin with enough force to send it tumbling to the ground. She, like her assailants froze, all of them looking at the bin as the rats that had been outside scurried away in fright.

Then she looked around trying to find who had thrown it, only to see that there was no one nearby and her rising hopes crumbled. "Probably just one of the rats." One of her assailants reasoned before he grabbed her top and with one final tug, ripped it clean off her body, revealing her conservative bra. "Wooh, finally." He leered at her, a cruel grin on his face as he licked his lips slowly.

"Come on, boys." Another said, pushing her up against the wall and widening the rip on her skirt. "Lets have some fun."

While she and the men pinning her to the wall where unaware, in those few moments another figure had appeared. Having used the distraction caused by the bin, he entered the alleyway out of sight and moved along, keeping to the shadows as best as he could. Then, with great stealth grabbed the furthest man back, the very same man that had started to undo his trousers and stabbed a knife into his neck. Before the man could even gurgle and grunt, a hand came around and covered his mouth, silencing his death.

In most cases, such a thing would never have gone unnoticed in such a tight space. Yet, the other two thugs were too focused on the half naked, struggling woman in front of them.

And so, the mysterious figure pulled the thug to the ground and gently placed him down as to not make any noise. He then rose up and saw that the man pinning the woman to the floor had nearly freed his manhood and so, stopped sticking to stealth and instead went for surprise.

With a single throw, he launched the knife in his hand straight at the man pinning the woman to the wall and it impaled him directly in the back of his knee.

A scream of pain escaped his lips as he dropped to his knees, looking back to see what had impaled him. He saw the knife and the blood pooling out and then looked to see where it had come from, his other friend having the same idea. Yet it was too late, the mysterious figure was upon him, a roundhouse kick to the knee sent the second figure to the ground, his leg breaking with sickening crunch.

Continuing with the motion, the figure punched the second man in the face before walking to the guy with the knife in his hands, having removed it from his leg. He was on his feet, unable to fully put pressure on the injured limb and with a roar, swung at the figure with a wild swing.

With ease, the figure parried the strike and slammed an elbow into his face, breaking the man's nose and sending his head whipping back. Yet, before the assailant could stumble back in a daze, the figure gripped the back of his head and repeatedly slammed his elbow into the man's face before letting him drop to the ground unconscious.

Releasing a breath, the figure took the knife that had slipped from the thugs fingers and while still on his knees, impaled the man's manhood, instantly waking the unconscious man as he screamed out in pain.

Leaving the thug to curl up in a ball sobbing, he then looked to see the final thug trying to crawl away and walked forwards. As he neared, the thug turned over and looked up at the mysterious figure with tears in his eyes.

"Please, I beg you, let me go." He begged, his eyes wide and his hands interlocked, almost as if he was praying.

"You should have thought about that before trying to rape an innocent woman, scum." He then stomped on the man's head with enough force that when it struck the ground it bounced off, only to be met with a second stomp that knocked the man out for good and simultaneously cracking his head open.

"T-thank you." Turning around, the figure saw the woman covering herself with the scraps of her clothes and gave a nod in her direction. She gave a small, teary eyed smile noticing just how young the figure was. He was no older than a teenager with blonde hair and blue eyes, yet he saved her where none had.

"You're welcome." He said, offering her a hand that she gingerly took, allowing him to pull her to her feet. "Here." Unzipping his jacket, making sure to do it slow noticing how she flinched at his sudden movement and passed it to her. "It'll cover you more than those."

Once again, she hesitantly took the offered article of clothing and after a few seconds of deliberation, put it on. Instantly feeling less vulnerable when not nearly fully naked before a man, even if he was her saviour.

"We should get out of the alleyway, the police will be nearly here." He informed her and she looked at him in confusion.

"Did you call them?" She asked and he shook his head.

"No, but I saw some people doing it." Despite this, the woman couldn't help but still feel bitter and angry at the people who had called the police. Here was a teenager, not even a man and he had jumped into save her life where fully grown men had simply walked by, ignoring what had happened.

It made her wonder who her saviour was and why he saved her?

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Wednesday 8th, April, 12:00._

_New Jersey, _

_Gotham City_

_Gotham Heights._

Smiling, Naruto shook his head as he allowed Barbara to lead him through the streets of Gotham. Things had cleared up between the two in the space of the two weeks since they had made up and in fact, it was even rarer to see the two seperated. It was like when they were kids again, always with one another and hardly apart.

Well, except for when Barbara was at school, Naruto having not returned after his trip to the hospital when Black Mask had almost beaten him to death. Mostly because he quit to spend his time training at local gyms and even practising his shooting having not done it since he was a kid with Jim and his father.

Both his father and Jim had been former marines in the US Military and while Jim had later gone on to be a cop in Chicago, Minato had returned home to Gotham to marry his childhood sweetheart, Kushina. Naruto didn't no much about what his dad did besides simply working odd jobs here and there, despite being incredibly smart, it seemed that his father hadn't been able to land a decent job at all.

Jim on the other hand had being transferred from Chicago to Gotham soon after Minato and Kushina's wedding with his niece, Barbara after his wife had left him. There, the two had spent a great deal of time getting together and while both were bogged down with work, Naruto had on more than one occasion being brought to the shooting range with them.

Still, things were looking better for Barbara and Naruto. Whereas their friendship had become a little strained what with their difference in opinions about how Black Hood operated, they had decided to push that to one side and avoid bringing it up. It worked for the most part, especially with Naruto deciding to put aside his double life as Black Hood seen as though his desire to get revenge against Black Mask was over.

He had considered continuing his crusade for true justice after Black Masks death, but his near death at the hands of Deadshot had made him rethink his decision. Or at least stopped him from being to rash about it. His fights against Robin and Deadshot showed that right now, he was outclassed and that if he was going to stand a chance in hell at surviving, he needed to be stronger.

For now, he would stop being Black Hood and at least train himself some more and then he would make a decision. He had more than enough money anyway, generously provided by Black Mask that enabled Naruto to at least live comfortably for months without needing to work any jobs.

Naruto may have been raised in the criminal underworld, but he didn't understand it fully. He had simply grasped the basics of how it worked, not all of its facets. And one of those facets had struck him in the face and almost killed him.

His near death at the hands of Black Mask had been a terrifying experience and he had vowed to never experience it again. It was why he started training himself in local gyms and martial arts clubs all across Gotham to build up his repertoire. And it had worked, everything he had planned had worked, except for a minor hiccup and his own arrogance getting in the way here and there, but it was nothing he hadn't managed to deal with.

Then came the ending and with it came his second near death experience at the hands of – what he later came to know after some research – was the world's greatest sharpshooter. The things Naruto had read about Deadshot painted a picture of a guy who only missed when he wanted too.

The fact that he came out of that fight alive and only a few bruises and a few bullet wounds was a miracle in of itself. All because he got lucky and that terrified Naruto more than anything, he could have died and it was only due to luck that he survived.

Hell, if it wasn't for David, one of the Black Hood growing supporters, Naruto was sure that he would have been caught by Batman and that was not something he wanted. The man had provided him with a getaway truck and driver as well as getting a surgeon to help Naruto with his injuries, turns out Black Hood's list of supporters was quite extensive.

So after getting patched up, he had kept his head down and instead allowed Black Hood to fade into obscurity for now. Many of the people of Gotham speculated that Black Hood was planning something big, but to be honest, Naruto was unsure on whether to continue.

Death was very real and as he watched Barbara walk through the streets a smile on her face and her fingers interlocked with his, he couldn't help but wonder if Gotham needed his help. It was safe, the crime lords where keeping their heads down and sure, from time to time he stopped a few rapists and robbers, but he didn't really want to go for big crime lords again.

Not just yet anyway.

Black Mask had shown him how dangerous they could be when pushed up against a wall and he didn't really want to risk his life based solely on luck. Despite many acting like civil servants and even attempting to pass off as kindly individuals, when threatened they were animals that would tear apart anyone in their way. He didn't want to experience the feeling of death again, never again.

"Hey, Naruto!" Blinking, Naruto looked up and saw Barbara staring at him with one hand on her hip. "You've been quite for the last few minutes, are you ignoring me?" She asked.

Naruto gave her an apologetic smile and squeezed her hand. "Sorry, I didn't mean to get so distracted, what were you saying?" Barbara studied him for a bit longer before the two once again beginning to walk down the street.

"So what had you so distracted?" She asked and Naruto looked at her with a smile.

"You."

It took a few moments for Barbara to register what he said and her face instantly turned a dark shade of red and she shyly looked to one side a small smile on her face. This made Naruto chuckle lightly making her smack his arm in mock anger.

"Don't do that." She muttered.

"Do what?" Her asked.

Barbara looked at him exasperatedly. "You know exactly what I mean, don't come out with random stuff like that just to distract me." She explained making Naruto smile this time.

"So it's you that's getting distracted this time, huh?" Shaking her head, Barbara didn't answer his question instead continuing to pull him through Gotham, it was a nice, warm day and he was glad that Barbara had asked him to come into Gotham. They had done it a few times here and there and they were always the highlights of his week.

"Shut up." Barbara replied, effectively shutting down his attempts at flustering her further. To think that she could listen to her fellow students, thugs and even everyday civilians describe what they'd like to do to her, well Batgirl but that was still her and she could shrug it off without feeling flustered. Yet, Naruto could make her blush like a schoolgirl like it was nothing and no one else could do that to her, it was honestly a wonder he hadn't figured out how she felt but then again, he had always being a little oblivious.

"Did you hear that?" Naruto asked breaking Barbara out of her thoughts and bringing her back to reality. She, like Naruto strained their hearing as they attempted to figure out what exactly Naruto had heard and that's when they heard the bangs.

This wasn't just any bang like some firework or something along those lines, this was gunfire.

And that's when the panic set in.

People ran screaming, rushing down the streets and even onto the road as more and more gunfire was heard from further down the street. They both watched as people clambered out of their cars to see what was going only to duck as if they were getting shot at when they heard gunfire and then join the horde of people.

"Naruto…?" She went to speak as she felt him drag her towards a shop.

"Stay here. Don't come out, if you do you'll get caught in that crowd of people. Stay here and hide." With that said, Naruto rushed out of the shop and instead of running left like the crowd of people, he instead fought against the flow and started moving right, pushing himself through the crowd of people and directly towards where the gunfire had been heard.

_'Fuck! What the hell does he think he's doing?!' _Barbara questioned, rushing out through the fire exit at the back of the shop and hid behind the nearby dumpster. The smell was awful but she hadn't come here to hide and instead pulled out her Batgirl costume from her purse. _'What the hell are you doing, Naruto?'_

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Wednesday 8th, April, 12:10._

_New Jersey, _

_Gotham City_

_Gotham Heights._

It took him longer than he would have liked to admit to finally realise that fighting through the flow of the crowd was not the only way to get to his destination. And then, it took him just as long to push his way into an alleyway before he could finally start climbing to the roof and move that way.

Gotham Heights was perfect for this kind of movement.

The attached buildings made for perfect movement across the roofs and the gaps that seperated those few buildings apart were only small meaning that he managed to make it to the source of the gunfire relatively quickly.

Still after the embarrassing trip came to an end, Naruto came to a stop on the roof overlooking the junction to see what was going on. Police cars had formed a barricade on the north and east junctions no doubt to contain the incident, but that had failed spectacularly.

For in the centre of the four way junction, police and civilians were engaged in a huge battle. Civilians and police were hitting not just one another, but their own comrades as well. What had properly started off as a confrontation between police and rioters – something he hadn't even heard anything about – had turned into a huge Battle Royale.

Again gun shots were heard as those carrying guns unloaded them without a care into both police and civilians.

Ducking down behind the wall, Naruto thought over a plan on what to do. A brawl like this should have attracted the attention of Batman or his sidekicks so the fact they weren't here meant they were either busy with similar situations, or they just didn't care. Despite his misgivings on Gotham's heroes, he didn't think it was the latter and so it was probably the former.

Which meant that it was probably a planned attacked, it was too staged for it to be pure coincidence so someone had set this up.

Still, it seemed like he would be getting involved again. This time as Naruto, he could blend into that crowd of people and act like he was a part of whatever was going while also minimising casualties as best as he could.

With that in mind, Naruto rose to his feet and went to start climbing down the side of the building only for a hand to grip his shoulder and drag him back behind the wall. Turning around he saw Batgirl crouching beside him and he glared at her.

"What are you doing?" He snapped making Batgirl blink at his tone before shaking her head.

"I should be asking you that question." She replied and Naruto scoffed, like she had any right to tell him what he could and couldn't do. "You shouldn't be here, it's not safe."

"Not safe for me, but it is for you, right?" Batgirl didn't say anything, just staring straight at him, her eyes narrowed slightly. He knew what she was trying to do, she was trying to make him back down using intimidation and it would have probably worked, if he found her scary that was. Unluckily for her, whoever she was behind that mask, didn't scare him at all. "Whatever." He scoffed and went to go down the building again only to be stopped once more.

"You're not going down there, you could get hurt." She continued, her grip on his shoulder tightening.

Naruto looked at her hand and then at her. "Look, I don't take orders from you, I can do what I want and right now, I think we've both got more pressing concerns, don't you?" He jerked his head in the direction of the free for all and Batgirl looked over.

Using her temporary distraction, Naruto ripped his shoulder out of her grasp and started climbing down the side of the building before she could stop him. "Wait! Uh, fine keep being stubborn." She groaned and he didn't know why, but that made him both smile and feel a sense of nostalgia.

Landing on the ground, Naruto started to jog towards the chaos just as batgirl glided down beside him. "Be careful." She said and Naruto ignored her as the two joined the fray, both seeking to incapacitate as many people as possible, though one was will to do this by any means necessary.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Wednesday 8th, April, 17:00._

_New Jersey, _

_Gotham City_

_East End._

Groaning, Naruto walked out of the shower having finally being released from the Gotham City Police Department and driven home by Gordon. There had been a few tirades about how reckless he had been, especially seen as though Gordon had quite quickly figured out that Naruto had not being under the influence of whatever drug had infected the rest of the people.

Still no charges had been pressed which Naruto had expected, as much as he hated to abuse Jim's love for him, he had known that he would escape without jail time. Jim had always covered for him when he skipped school and other things partly because he felt guilty about not being able to adopt Naruto. And so, he had abused that on a few occasions.

_"Why did you do it?"_ That's what Jim had asked him the moment they got in his car and started driving home. And to be completely honest, Naruto didn't know how to describe his reasoning. When he had become Black Hood it had been to make sure that Black Mask could never threaten him, Barbara or Jim ever again.

Getting involved in that had nothing to do with Barbara, him or Jim. Sure he and Barbara were nearby, but it was far enough away and those involved were too focused on killing each other to focus on anyone else. Giving him and Barbara plenty of time to get away.

And of course, there was the risk that Jim could have been apart of that group, but Naruto knew better than anyone that while his godfather was no Batman or anyone like that, he could look after himself. Especially against a ragtag group of civilians that were just aimlessly using whatever they could get their hands on as a weapon.

So he had no need to get involved, but he did and he didn't know why.

"Why?" He questioned himself, pulling a shirt of his head, not even attempting to fix his messy and wild hair, having learnt his lesson along while ago that it could never be tamed. That's when he noticed the shadow in the corner of his room being darker than it had any right to be.

Making sure to act like nothing was happening, he opened his sock draw and picked up a pair of socks, revealing a handgun resting there. Quickly he spun around and fired his gun at the shadow which performed a dive roll avoiding each shot. Yet he never let up, constantly firing as the cloaked figure darted around the room, never standing still and avoiding each and everyone of his bullets.

Once his clip was empty, Naruto found himself face to face with the Dark Knight himself, Batman.

"I wonder how the people of Gotham will react if they knew the Batman liked to watch boys shower." He snarked, gripping the knife he had out on his kitchen counter, having moved form his bedroom to the kitchen while firing.

"That's not why I'm here and you know that." Batman replied, never breaking his calm posture.

Charging forwards, Naruto swung his knife that was held in a reverse grip down on Batman, aiming to pierce him through his eye. Only for his wrist to be caught in one of Batman's irons-like grips, the knife mere inches from his eye. Despite his eyes locking gazes with Naruto's, Batman managed to lazily catch Naruto's free hand which had attempted to punch the caped crusader in the gut.

Leaning forward, Naruto glared at him. "I'm through with being Black Hood." Naruto snarled out before spitting in Batmans face, he then swung his fist and watched it collide with his opponents face with great satisfaction.

The caped crusader on the other hand had been temporarily caught flat-footed by this unorthodox move and so had been unprepared for the follow up punch. Despite this, after stumbling back a step, he quickly recovered and parried the blondes follow up strike before landing a punch of his own.

The two moved back and stared at one another before Naruto charged forwards once more ignoring the dull ache in his cheek. The two punches were parried and when Naruto went to land a roundhouse kick Batman just weaved underneath it, hooking one arm around Naruto's balancing leg and with a quick tug pulled the blonde off his feet.

Temporarily he was suspended in the air, unable to quite believe what had happened before air rushed from his lungs as his back slammed onto the ground. Yet, despite being exposed, Batman did not capitalise on this.

Shaking his head, Naruto growled and lashed out with his feet in an attempt to sweep Batman's legs out only for the hero to step back, casually avoiding the wild sweep. Using this opportunity, Naruto got to his feet and charged Batman once more, this time with renewed vigour as he realised that Batman wasn't taking this seriously.

It was a short fight, Naruto always going on the offensive and Batman would nonchalantly parry the strike and then land one of his own. But despite the openings he would create, Batman would never capitalise upon them, just watch as Naruto regained his balance before allowing Naruto to repeat the process again.

Going for a roundhouse kick to Batmans waist, he found it blocked by Batmans own knee. That same leg lashed and kicked the inside of the blondes other leg, strong enough to buckle his knees and drop him to the ground but cause no injury. This was then followed up with a spinning hock kick to the temple that sent Naruto rolling across the room.

Despite being dealt a blow that would have knocked out many, Naruto quickly rolled to his feet and charged forwards once more. A few punches to Batmans guard that masterfully held under the continuous assault and then on the seventh punch, Batman opened up grabbing the wrist and slamming that back of his knuckles on Naruto's jaw.

Once again the opening he had created was not used which only angered Naruto further.

More punches and this time, went for kick to finish the combo.

Despite his anger, Naruto was still in control and so remembered what happened last time he had attempted this. As Batman went to block the kick with his forearm, Naruto instead shifted his footing and quickly raised the trajectory of the kick to the temple instead of the stomach.

Even so, this sudden movement didn't catch Batman off guard who simply caught the kick with his other hand, while his original blocking arm gripped Naruto's balancing leg. With a tug and what looked like an effortless display of strength, Batman used Naruto's unsteady positioning to throw Naruto across the room where he collided against the wall.

Groaning, Naruto rose to his feet and shook his head, still a little dazed from some of his earlier strikes. "You're holding back." Naruto muttered raising his fists up in a signature boxing stance.

Batman said nothing knowing it was correct. His strikes had never been at full power if they were, Naruto would never have been able to last this long. Some of those strikes to the joints should have broken arms and legs, but he held back and only unbalanced him. Not to mention, he never went on the offensive, but beating Naruto or Black Hood as he knew him to be really be, was not why he came here.

"Give up, I didn't come here for a fight." Batman growled out in his usual voice to make sure that no one could link him to Bruce Wayne.

Smirking, Naruto tensed up in preparation to charge forwards once more. "Well to bad, 'cause I can do this all day." Batman highly doubted that, but he would admire Naruto for his determination to keep fighting. Still, this fight needed to end and he doubted Naruto would stop.

As Naruto charged forwards once more he allowed Naruto to throw the first punch and this time, instead of parrying stepped inside Naruto's guard and landed an uppercut into his solar plexus.

Spittle came out of Naruto's mouth as his eyes widened in shock, the wind being entirely knocked out of him by that simple blow. And unlike before, Batman didn't give Naruto time to recover and used the opening to further his counter-offensive.

A left elbow strike to Naruto's left knee, sent the blonde down onto one knee. Then going with the momentum, spun round and slammed a right elbow upwards into Naruto's face sending the blonde to the ground, his nose bleeding and his mind in a daze.

It was short and it was brutal, but it was effective.

In the space of a few short seconds, Batman had ended the fight and for good measure, placed one foot on Naruto's chest to keep him pinned down. For you see, despite Naruto's skill and natural talent for fighting, he couldn't match Batmans pure skill and combat experience. Plus, Naruto was used to fighting only common thugs and had gotten his ass handed to him by Deadshot.

Batman fought guys like Deadshot on a monthly basis, hell sometimes weekly. He'd taken on guys like Killer Croc and other superpowered individuals despite being human and came out the victor.

Naruto had a long way to go if he wanted to get onto Batmans level, that's why the very same hero wanted to teach him. Just like Dick, Naruto had the potential and raw talent to actually surpass him and he didn't want to talent like that to go to waste or end up in the wrong hands.

But he also knew that Naruto would never accept his training outright, Barbara had described his dislike and anger for superheroes quite vividly and so would spurn their offer for help. It's why he came here tonight, to try and guide Naruto without the blonde realising it.

"You done?" Batman asked.

In response, Naruto tried to push Batman's foot off his chest but to no avail. The here's foot remained firmly planted there keeping Naruto on the ground. "Yea, I'm done." The blondes tone made Batman smirk before quickly wiping it away.

Rising to his feet, Batman presented Naruto a hand who looked at it and then back at him. With another sigh that made it seem like this decision physically pained him, Naruto accepted the hand and allowed Batman to help him to his feet.

"Anyone tell you that you have no right to be that good?" Batman said nothing only allowing his lips to twitch upwards giving Naruto all the answer he needed. "Right, of course they have." Rubbing his jaw and wiping the blood that was dribbling down from his nose, Naruto walked towards the kitchen counter and started running the tap. "So why are you here?"

Batman watched as Naruto started to use the water to get some of the drying blood fro his face before answering. "I need you help." The incredulous look Naruto gave him once again reminded him that this kid was actually quite expressive with his emotions, a good thing for sure, but as a hero or vigilante he would need to learn to control that. For normal humans like them who weren't invulnerable to bullets, they needed to learn to act invincible.

To act like pain didn't affect them, it worked very well in making thugs extremely wary and paranoid. This in turn, would result in them making mistakes that could be capitalised upon.

"No seriously, why are you here?" Naruto asked and Batman said nothing, once again giving him all the answer he needed. Turning off the tap, Naruto rested against the counter, both arms crossed over his chest and looked Batman dead in the eye. "So you are serious. Mind telling me what exactly is so troubling that you came to me for help?"

"You got involved in the large riot that took place in Gotham Heights with Batgirl." Batman began. "What neither of you knew at the time that it was planned." Naruto said nothing, having already came to that conclusion due to it seeming too coincidental for it to be just that, a coincidence. "Or by who?"

"Let me guess, one of Gotham's many supervillains?"

Batman nodded his head. "Scarecrow or Jonathan Crane as he was known formerly."

"I thought Cranes whole thing was inspiring fear, they didn't look very scared at all, in fact they looked pretty fearless." Naruto recounted.

"That's true, Crane has always created Fear Toxins to make people see their worst fears. It how he controls people, but it seems he's worked on a toxin that eliminates a persons fear entirely. For example, making random civilians want to commit their darkest and most evil desires. Stealing, murder, rape." Naruto grimly nodded his head.

"And in a large area, making people erupt into all out brawl in the middle of Gotham Heights."

"Exactly." Batman continued, pleased to see that Naruto had a good head on his shoulders, he'd need that if he wanted to survive this world of superpowered individuals when he was only a human. "You were there when it happened, you know what this drug is capable of. I want you to help me stop Scarecrow before he can create enough of this stuff to turn Gotham into a war zone."

After a few moments of silence, Naruto nodded his head and pushed off the counter. "Yea, alright." He walked up to Batman so that they would stood near face to face, Naruto having grown a couple more inches to stand at a respectable height of six foot. "But let me make one thing clear, this doesn't make me part of your little Bat Family and I'm not doing this because you asked me, I'm doing this for Barbara and Jim. No one else."

Nodding his head, Batman moved past Naruto and towards the window that miraculously stayed intact despite the rest of Naruto's apartment being wrecked. Luckily for the blonde, no one would really care or complain about the noise partly because people made just as much noise in their own apartments.

"Meet me in the alley across from the building when you're done." With those instructions, Batman jumped out of the window and used his cape to glide across the sky and onto the roof of the adjacent building.

Naruto watched him go and then released a sigh of defeat. "What the hell are you doing, Naruto?" He questioned himself before walking into his room and lifting up one of the panels of his bedroom floor and pulled out the duffle bag that was there.

Brushing off some of the dust that had gathered on it, Naurto opened the bag to reveal his Black Hood attire. "Seriously, what the fuck are you doing?"

**A/N: So it's finally here, another chapter done so sorry for the long wait. Had a burst of inspiration after writing my A Shinobis Creed FanFic, which is a Naruto and Marvel fic so if you like those kind of fics then please go do check it out and let me know what you think. I should have another chapter out in a couple of weeks. Just depends on how much work University piles on me. **

**For now, I'll be focusing on getting this next Arc out of the way and done so expect a few more chapters of this to come out. **

**Now, this chapter hopefully you liked it because I think I did a good job of getting across how Naruto's near death experience at the hands of Deadshot affected him as well as showing that Naruto is also starting to fall into a hero role by saving people that aren't linked of him in anyway. Plus, you got to see a fight between Naruto and Batman which went about as well as you can expect. **

**Naruto is a good fighter and like Batman explained, Naruto has a lot of raw talent and potential just like Dick Grayson. But he also knows that unlike Dick, Naruto won't expect Batmans offer for training simply because he don't like how Batman operates. So in this arc you'll see a lot of friction between Naruto, Robin, Batgirl and even Batman (though this will be one sided as Batmans above making things difficult where as Naruto is still a kid).**

**Also Scarecrow has been introduced and this time he's taking people's fear away instead of giving them fear. So yea, should be interesting.**

**Now onto the questions:**

**Apedreitor: Yes I have, but I thought instead it'd be best just to have Naruto learn magic than have this whole sub-branch of magic that is Chakra and no one else uses. So instead, Naruto will probably learn magic some point in the future because he sees its practical uses.**

**It could be, quite possibly, I've always liked his character and what he's done.**

**And to be honest I've never actually thought of that, but it does make sense and seems like it could be an interesting story idea. Kind of reminds of something like Harry Dresden from the Dresden files where he uses magic as a police officer. I think I've got that right, I'm not sure its been a while.**

**Blaze1992: I'm going for a more a Will Smith Deadshot personality wise, but with the appearance and history of the Deadshot from comics. Yes, it will be a harem with Barbara, Koriand'r and Kara, though the actual harem itself won't happen straight away. Naruto won't meet one girl, then the other and the other all the while adding them to his harem. Instead he will have a relationship with each of them (NarutoxBarbara, NarutoxKoriand'r, NarutoxKara) before it becomes the full harem, if you get what I mean. **

**This way, it allows me to build up the relationships with them individually before delving into the harem route. **

**As for your next question, yes he will. But he won't go the full route that Harry did in the Third Path to the Future, instead going his own route. And he probably will have a team, he will be teaming up with a number of heroes, anti-heroes and even villains over the course of his carrier and this will help build up his allies that he can call upon. **

**As for what it's based on, these earlier arcs besides the first one are based off the recent animated movies (Batman vs Robin and Assault on Arkham), however the former movie is only a loose foundation for the second arc which I'm currently on. Later on it will follow the Young Justice Timeline up to the second season where it will diverge. But I won't be telling what. **

**xSean: He will, but I will eventually have Naruto reveal himself as a statement to all villains that he isn't afraid of them or what they can do even when they know who he is. And that no matter what they do he will still hunt them down and end them. So yes, Naruto will eventually go maskless, but he knows that he needs to get stronger and more confident in himself before he can do that.**

**LightninXX: Yes, Naruto will have high speed but as you can see he focused more in hi strength in the time training. This came back to bite him in the ass against Robin as we all know how that fight turned out. But yes, Naruto will get faster, much faster. As for how he got here, in Gotham he was born here. Think of this as an alternate Naruto, he's not actually from the canon universe. **

**RubixJr: No, though to be honest when initially writing this fic that was one of the ideas I had after watching One Punch Man Season 2 and seeing Garou. As a result there's a bit of that influence in there, but no, it's no longer one of his powers. It's just Naruto's natural talent along with his stubbornness coming into play.**

**Hollow Anbu fox: It did, however I decided to split the story into a number of small books simply because this story's gonna be around 300 plus chapters. So I decided to go back and edit the earlier chapters, but in under to not get confused as to which ones I had and hadn't updated, I decided to delete the story and 'redo' it so to speak. I'll be updating every Monday and Friday till I get to the original chapter number of 13 and then I'll be back to my once a fortnight schedule. **

**Hope this clears up any questions and if not, please let me know in a review so I can answer to the best of my ability without spoiling the overall story.**


	7. Chapter VI - To Know Fear

**Injustice: The Path to Hell.**

**Book 1: A Journey's Beginning.**

**Chapter VI – To know Fear**

"Normal Speech."

_'Normal Thought.'_

**"Demon Speech."**

**_'Demon Thought.'_**

_Location/Time_

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Wednesday 7th, April, 19:00._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_Dockyard._

"Really? A dockyard?" Naruto questioned as he crouched besides Batman on a shipping container overlooking the people down below. "How cliché can they get? I mean seriously, when I was hunting down Black Mask this is the first place I came to look for information."

The dockyards were a hotbed of criminal activity. So much so that most of the workers were actually members of various gangs with the docks themselves split between each crime lord evenly. Apparently once Batman had come along, the old agreements hadn't been enough and so there had been a huge negotiation between the various larger crime lords that dictated who would own which parts of the docks.

It had been the largest gathering in years and since then, there had been no such gathering ever again.

Batman said nothing, continuing to study the thugs down below as they moved barrels of an unknown substance into a single container.

"Speaking of which, how come you've never stopped those deals going on here?" Naruto asked the silent Batman. "Because I found a lot of shady shit going on when I was here and not all of it was to do with Black Mask."

Once again there was silence for a few minutes. "Because it's better to have an enemy operating in a place you know they will, than in a place you don't." Batman explained. What was the point in busting the few small time deals that took place in the dockyards daily when he could allow them to continue to operate here so that when a big deal came a long, he could catch them. That way, he didn't have to look through the entire city trying to find where the deal was and would probably be in a more secure location.

The docks were open with plenty of high vantage points and ways to sneak into it. A perfect place for him to take down the bigger dealings that took place and it was certainly worth the risk of letting a number of smaller deals take place.

Besides, the vast majority of deals that went on here were usually stopped by the Gotham Police Department. When considering all that, it was actually more beneficial to allow said deals to go on even if a few went on unhindered. Especially if it allowed him to stop the bigger deals that could and would cause serious problems and consequences if allowed to happen.

"Still don't get it." Naruto replied.

"Be quiet." Batman hushed, watching as an SUV pulled up in front of the proceedings.

Naruto narrowed his eyes in anger at being ordered around, but instead of saying something decided to turn his gaze back to the thugs and watched as Scarecrow stepped out of the SUV. His mask in place as a few of the more important members of his gang listened to the orders he was giving.

"We definitely found what we're looking for." Naruto muttered and Batman nodded his head. "I'm gonna go get a closer look." In most cases Batman would have attempted to stop Naruto knowing that he could get caught and alert the guards who would raise the alarm. This in turn would cause the barrels to be moved to a different location.

However, he watched as the shipping containers holding what he assumed was the Fearless Toxin Scarecrow had produced were locked up. They wouldn't be able to unlock the container and move the Fearless toxin before he arrived and so he allowed Naruto to get closer.

It also allowed him to study Naruto's movements as well.

Like he had expected from the moment he and Naruto had fought, he was raw and untrained. He stayed out of sight well enough, but that was easy when you were higher up and you were dressed in all black at night. Still, he knew it was best to stick to the shadows and was very quiet for someone who moved like stealth was a foreign concept to them.

Still, he could see plenty of things to improve upon, both in his fighting style from earlier and also in his movements. However, they could be improved with time and proper guidance.

But like he knew when offering this team up, Naruto would be difficult to work with. He didn't like Batman and his lack of killing, that alone would make working with him difficult for Naruto. Add in the fact that Naruto was also very stubborn and well, it seems he would have his work cut out for him, more so than with Barbara and Richard.

Still, he would make this work as best as he could. The whole point of this team up was so that Batman could teach or at least guide Naruto in how to improve both his fighting and his view on life.

Killing was not an option for people like them, they needed to prove to the government that they weren't the time bombs that they thought they were. It's hard enough trying to keep the villains from discovering their secret identities, let alone with the various government agencies and police forces doing the same. In a matter of weeks if not days, nearly every hero would have their secret identity discovered giving the government all the leverage they needed to control not only the heroes, but the Justice League and all its resources.

Naruto needed to realise that or he would end up as a tool to do someone else's bidding.

Still, he had the information he needed.

Naruto was going to be difficult to convince to accept his help, Scarecrow was holding Fearless toxin at the docks and he could end this incident right now before it started to get worse.

Moving quickly, he moved to Naruto's location and noticed that the boy hadn't even sensed his approach. Suddenly revealing his presence would no doubt startle him and alert the guards and send Scarecrow scurrying off to whatever hole he had been hiding in.

So instead, Batman leaped off the container and allowed his cape to open up. He glided across the night sky and as he neared Scarecrows location, before dropping to the ground kicking the man to the ground with a kick to the face. The various thugs scattered around the dockyard froze taking a few moments to stare before snapping back to reality and firing at his direction.

Regretfully, some of the thugs went down due to friendly fire as Batman avoided the hail of bullets and charged into the largest group of criminals. His fists and feet lashed out with devastating accuracy and power, sending criminals collapsing to the ground in bruised, unconscious heaps of flesh.

Meanwhile, Naruto looked on in shock having not expected Batman to spring into action so suddenly. But still, he quickly got a hold of himself when Batman came under fire and pulled out his fully loaded pistols and took aim.

Not every shot was a kill shot, most were head shots and that's where he was aiming. But some were slightly off course and hit some thugs in the chests, shoulders, arms, legs and if they were lucky, missed them entirely. Still, Naruto had a number of clips to go through from his time robbing Black Masks armoury and every time his gun ran out of bullets, he'd just replace the empty clip with a new one.

So while he was no Deadshot, – though he had worked hard on improving his skills – he was definitely a good shot unlike some those thugs firing at Batman right now.

"Get me out of here!" Scarecrow shouted, violently grabbing one of the thugs before pushing him to the drivers side of the SUV he arrived in while Scarecrow got into the passenger.

Not wanting him to escape, Naruto took aim and fired.

Luckily for him, his aim was true and would have pierced straight through the head of the driver effectively stopping Scarecrows escape. Unluckily for him he had been aiming for Scarecrow and the bullet had been stopped by the bulletproof windshield.

"Shit!" He cursed, watching as Scarecrow took off. "You're not getting away that easily."

Leaving Batman to deal with what remained of Scarecrows crew, Naruto took off back the way he came, leaping, vaulting and climbing his way across the piled containers until he arrived at where his bike was parked.

He knew very well from his time studying the dockyards layout that the nearest exit for Scarecrow was just down the road from his exit and so, he quickly revved the engine of his bike and took off.

The bike roared as he swerved it through the dockyard, skidding across the ground as he turned right after exiting it and then took off faster than before. Already he had broken the speed limit pushing a hundred and fifty miles per hour as he drove down the road, his form a blur as he tried to catch up to Scarecrow.

That's when he saw the SUV driving up the road.

He was going too fast to stop in time and so, watched in slow motion to his mind as the SUV drove straight past him, Scarecrow staring out at him from behind the window. Growling, he slowed his bike right down, while simultaneously spinning it round only to see Batman jump and land on the ground in front of him, one hand raised in the universal sign of stop in his direction.

Ripping his helmet off, Naruto looked at Batman incredulously. "Why the hell did you stop me?" Naruto shouted and Batman just stared at him silently. "I could have caught up to him easily."

"Have you forgotten the barrels filled with his Fearless toxin that he will eventually use against Gotham?" Batman questioned.

"Have _you_ forgotten," Naruto stressed this part as to mock Batman. "That Scarecrow is the one who created this toxin and even if we have his barrels, he can just create more, have you forgotten that?"

"No."

"Then what? You just stopped me from chasing down Scarecrow." Naruto continued. "If you don't know, this wouldn't be my first time chasing an SUV, I should have just run you over." Naruto muttered the last part angrily.

Batman stared firmly at Naruto realising that he may have more work cut out for him than he realised. "If I remember correctly, that chase resulted in it being a trap that you walked straight into." That last part made Naruto freeze before his face twisted up in snarl at the reminder of his own hubris.

"Whatever." Naruto grunted. "So what do we do about Scarecrow who's escaped?"

Batman turned around and started moving back towards the dockyard. "I placed a tracker on him." He said before firing a grappling hook that wrapped around a nearby support beam and pulled him up towards the top of the containers.

As he watched Batman disappear back to where they had originally being, Naruto couldn't help feeling a little bit of respect for Batman despite how much it pained him. He hadn't even thought of tracking devices, nor had he realised that Batman had placed a tracker on Scarecrow.

_'Stopping me makes more sense now.'_ He thought before putting his helmet on and riding his back to where Scarecrows Fearless toxin was being stored. '_Should have led with that in the first place.'_

Bringing his bike to a stop beside Batman, he looked to where the barrels had been stored to find that not only was the container open, but it was also empty. "We were gone only a few minutes, how did they manage to empty it all without us realising?" Naruto asked and Batman didn't answer because they already knew the answer.

It shouldn't be possible.

There's no way twenty three barrels of Fearless toxin should have been able to be moved in the space of less than ten minutes. Not without them knowing about it.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Wednesday 8th, April, 19:00._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_East End._

Sighing, Robin sat back on the ground, his back leaning against the wall as he waited quietly. It had been like this for the last fifteen minutes since Batman placed a tracker on Scarecrow allowing them know where his hideout was. It took them only five minutes for him and Batgirl to get here in the Batwing and they had been waiting patiently for ten minutes for Batman to arrive.

Now normally, he was a pretty patient guy.

There were plenty of times in which he and Batman would spend hours on a stakeout just waiting for the perfect moment to strike to present itself, yet here he was ten minutes into the waiting game and he was already frustrated.

"Calm down, Robin." Batgirl muttered quietly, her irritation at his impatience slipping into her tone. He looked over to see that she was doing what he had previously being doing, studying the warehouse in which Scarecrow was situated and like always, she was doing a better job.

Despite having being Robin far longer than she had been Batgirl, she had quickly proven that her age did give her some advantages. She was every bit as flexible, as fast and even slightly stronger than him, combine that with her fighting style, intelligence and longer reach and well, Batgirl was currently better than him. It still hurt his pride a little to know that someone who hadn't done this as long as him had surpassed him, even if she did keep saying that eventually he would surpass her.

It had nothing to do with Batgirl being a member of the opposite gender, it was just how quickly she had grown into being Batgirl. She had been unusually motivated, more so than he had when he first started out and he knew it had something to do with her childhood friend, Naruto.

"I know, you're right. I'm sorry." Robin apologised turning around to look over the side of the building once more. He could usually last much longer than this, but that was usually due to having no choice. Scarecrows security was spread thin so they could sneak in easily.

Why Batman had told them to wait when he would have usually let them go in was anyone's guess?

That's when both of Batmans sidekicks heard the sound of footsteps. A single pair and whoever it was, was trying to sneak up on them. It probably one of Scarecrows goons who had somehow spotted them and thought to take them out by surprise. Unluckily for him, he tried to sneak up on the wrong people.

Spinning around, Robin went to leap forwards, while Batgirl went to leap to the side. It was a tried and true method of attack the two had come up with in the countless times they had worked together.

Robin would jump forwards and engage their enemy in close quarters, keep him or her distracted and off guard. While this was going on, Batgirl would move around and if needed, through Batarangs at them that would cause their attacker to avoid them as well Robin, which was easier said than done. If they needed to stick to stealth – like right now – and couldn't afford making too much noise, she would instead come in from the flanks or from behind.

There were very few people who had the necessary skill to fend off either Batgirl or a Robin, let alone both at the same time. And those that could would still find them hard pressed for a while, long enough for Batman to arrive or so they hoped.

All that came to a halt when they noticed that it was not a single person stood behind them, but two. One was their mentor, Batman which explained why they could only hear one pair of footsteps. Despite their best efforts, Batman was still just too skilled for them to close the gap. The other was a surprise guest, Black Hood.

And what an unwelcome surprise as well, for most parties involved.

"What's he doing here?" Robin asked, arms crossed over his chest due to still being a little miffed at being tricked by the vigilante. The ass kicking he dealt to the the older boy definitely worked well in soothing his wounded pride, but it didn't change the fact that he had been tricked by a dud of all things.

Now that, that seriously wounded his pride.

Especially with all the teasing from Barbara, Alfred and even Bruce at times.

"He's here to help." Batman informed them shortly, gauging the reactions of the three young individuals before him.

Batgirl and Robin appeared indifferent and would appear unbothered by Black Hoods arrivals to most people. But to him, he could tell they disliked this as much as the person they were so uneasy to work with.

As for Black Hood, he like his protégé's disliked this turn of events greatly. His entire posture radiated irritation and even anger at being forced to work with the three people who he blamed for having a role in enabling Gotham's crime, despite being the ones trying to stop it.

Still, he needed to be sure there wouldn't be any problems. "This won't be a problem, will it?" It was phrased as a question, but everyone knew it was more of an order. A force of habit that his protégé's had grown used to, Black Hood not so much and it showed in the way his anger grew a bit more at being ordered around. Even so, Black Hood begrudgingly nodded his head stiffly. "Good."

Batman on the other hand couldn't care less about Black Hoods wounded pride. They had a job to do and he wouldn't walk around on eggshells around Gotham's newest vigilante just because he didn't like being ordered around. His stubbornness could be a good thing, but it seems that Black Hood didn't understand when to let such things go in the face of overcoming odds that required help.

That would have to change as well.

"What have you learned?" Batman asked, crouching down beside Batgirl, while Black Hood and Robin remained standing, their eyes narrowed in each other's direction. Neither said anything, even Black Hood knew better than to piss off Batman, especially after being beaten with relative ease earlier today.

"Thirty armed guards and I'm not just seeing Scarecrows guys down there, I'm seeing a few guys that have worked with Killer Croc as well." Batgirl informed her mentor who said nothing, just kneeled there thinking over the information. "I'm thinking the two might be teaming up or something like that. Either way, the only viable way is to get on the roof and then move down through the windows on the side. Most are missing so we should be able to avoid making any noise."

Nodding his head, Batman took note of the number of men on the roof.

There were five, all armed with semi-automatics and patrolling randomly around, making sure to look like they knew what they were doing when in fact they didn't. Still, with five of them, it would be difficult to take them all out before they could raise the alarm, partly because they had a new member that was unused to working with them.

Batman more for the sake of Black Hood, pronounced their next move. "Go for the roof, take out the guards and move into the warehouse through the missing windows." While he, Robin and Batgirl had grown so used to working together, their roles had become defined. The unique synergy that had formed meant they didn't need to communicate to know what the other was doing, they could tell just from their minuscule movements what they were planning to do. Right now, Black Hood didn't have that and so for the sake of things, Batman would have to use verbal communication more often.

Without a word, Batgirl and Robin took off covering the west and east sides of the building. Each getting into a position where they could take out the guards quickly and quietly.

Batman however, stayed and turned to Black Hood. "You cover the guard on this side, once I'm in position take him out, quickly and quietly." Reluctantly, the younger man nodded his head and Batman went to leave, but just before he did he remembered something. "No killing."

With that warning, Batman took off not even caring if Black Hood had attempted to rebuke this order and instead move to get into position.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Wednesday 8th, April, 19:05._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_East End._

It was interesting to watch the boy struggle to work and fit in with his new 'team.' He chaffed under Batmans leadership due to disliking the heroes rule of no killing and what that rule had resulted in. This in turn, related to how well he worked with Batmans protégé's, Batgirl and Robin. They too shared Batmans rule of no killing and in turn, the effects were the same.

Naruto Uzumaki was an interesting individual for a number of reasons.

He had the raw talent and potential for fighting that few had. If moulded correctly very few would be able to match the boys skill, but alas, if he continued as he was he would never realise his true potential.

Second, he wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty. He may have shied away from the act as of recently, rarely getting involved in the vigilante business after his near brush with death at the hands of Deadshot. None the less, he had wasted no time in killing criminals again, the dead bodies of a number of criminals at the dockyards could attest to that.

And last but not least, he was different.

He was not of the same breed as those normal people, the ants the rushed around the cities to continue their pathetic lives. He when pushed to the breaking point didn't shy away from the darkness and instead, embraced it whole heartedly while making sure to never lose control of himself. Not many could claim to be able to do that, especially not so young.

He also wasn't of the same breed as the Batman, the Justice League and all those other heroes. Naruto wasn't afraid to kill one life to save thousands, especially not when it came to the life of his precious, Barbara Gordon.

It was almost amusing to him, how would he react when he realised that the very girl he loved, was Batgirl. One of the heroes he so despised, what an interesting twist that would be. And so amusing to see how he would react and the consequences that would follow.

Discovering Barbara's alter ego wasn't that difficult to make once he learned that Naruto was Black Hood. His masters wanted to know if Black Hood could be turned and if not, could he be controlled? After all, when a vigilante appeared that killed, it garnered the attention of a lot of people and they would more often than not either seek to destroy or control you. Barbara was the leverage they would need to control the wildcard that was Naruto.

So in an attempt to learn more about said girl, to learn her routine and everything about her, he had come across the interesting discovery of who Batgirl really was. He never would have imagined that Jim Gordon's daughter would be the sidekick of Batman. But it would be the exact thing he needed to make Naruto submit to their rule.

But for now, it would seem that Naruto was busy.

The four heroes had already taken out the guards stationed on the roof and where making their way into the warehouse through the broken windows. He had warned Scarecrow that using such an unsecured base for not only his headquarters but production centre would work against him.

Sure it might be the last place someone would look, especially when someone was designing the chemical weapon that would turn Gotham City into a war zone, but the numerous armed guards that were patrolling the warehouse constantly made it obvious something was happening here.

Still, it was not his problem, his masters already had the Fearless Toxin that they had hired Scarecrow to make. He had no reason to assist Scarecrow anymore, but he felt like testing Naruto a little more.

If he survived this night then he would extend an offer to the boy.

If not, then he would not be worth his or his masters time.

Pulling out a radio he had stolen from one of the guards stationed around the warehouse, he turned it to Scarecrows 'secure' channel. "Scarecrow, you have infiltrators amongst you, guess who it could be?" There was silence, he knew Scarecrow had heard him because he never let the radio leave his sight or his person.

This was followed by gunfire.

With a smirk behind his mask, the figure disappeared into the shadows.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Wednesday 8th, April, 19:10._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_East End._

"Batgirl, Black Hood!" Batman called, from his position taking cover behind a wooden crate, Robin by his side. "Take out the supply chain!" He ordered before pulling out a few Batarangs and launching them towards the thugs that were slowly walking towards them while firing their guns at the heroes position.

The Batarangs struck the ground before them and began beeping before they released a large quantity of smoke that engulfed the criminals. Using this, Batman and Robin rushed towards the stairs, while Black Hood and Batgirl charged into the smoke. While Batgirl quickly got to work dispatching those criminals on the ground, Black Hood took a few moments for his eyes to adapt to the smoke clouding his vision.

By that point most of it had cleared and the criminals were once again firing upon him and Batgirl.

"Why didn't you take them out?!" Batgirl cried out, as Black Hood punched the nearest goon in the face before kicking him into the guy behind him that had taken aim at Batgirl who was taking on four guys simultaneously.

"Well some of us aren't used to seeing through smoke!" He replied, taking note of the seven guys Batgirl had already taken out. He would admit it, but Batgirl just like Batman and Robin were still better than him. Still didn't mean he had to like being outdone by others and so he came at the thugs with a bit more brutality than was needed.

Well, in the eyes of Batgirl at least.

Pocketing his guns, Black Hood instead decided to go for his knives and came up close, slashing one man across the neck while rolling underneath gunfire that would have riddled his chest with bullets. Coming up, out of the roll he stabbed the knife into the side of mans knee and ripped it out, also removing his kneecap at the same time.

Allowing the thug to drop to the ground with a cry of pain holding his knee, Black Hood continued onto the next person.

Batgirl was too busy fending off another group of guys, each having surrounded her in a circle hoping that this would catch her off guard. It didn't and instead, Batgirl continued to masterfully parry and evade every strike while simultaneously landing blows of her own. While not having as much strength as the fully grown men she was fighting, Batgirl had much more precision and knew exactly where to hit to gain the maximum results.

Each blow she struck was aimed at certain areas that disabled her opponents or slowed them down, their bodies susceptibility to pain working against them.

When one guy dropped to the ground unconscious with a spinning hock kick to the temple from said heroine, the thug he was charging towards had taken aim at her exposed back. So, he came up behind him and stabbed his blade into the guys neck and as the man fell to his knees, his life ebbing away slowly, Black Hood grabbed his falling gun and took aim.

The bullets fired from the gun cut through the air and struck the goons surrounding Batgirl and knocked them to ground, the vast majority were dead. Some however, escaped with only major injuries and would probably die due to blood loss if not treated soon.

"What the hells you're problem!" Batgirl raged, storming up to Black Hood and ripping the gun out of his hands, chucking it away in disgust. "You just killed them!"

"Your point?" Black Hood replied dryly, not flinching in the face of her anger. "This guy was going to kill you and so were them, I saved your life. You should be thanking me."

Batgirl gave a short laugh, honestly amused by what he had said. "You think I'd thank you, a murderer?" She questioned and Black Hood said nothing. "I don't know what Batman sees in you, but whatever it is I don't see it. For all I care, you should be locked up in Arkham just like the rest of the crazies in Gotham."

"You think I'm crazy?" Naruto asked, his eyes narrowed but his tone sounding amused.

"What else can you be?" Batgirl returned, not backing down despite him being taller than her. "You're a murderer who's playing the hero, if that doesn't sound crazy to you than I don't know what will."

Clenching his fists tightly, Black Hood fought the urge to start a fight no matter how badly he wanted to hit the heroine who was insulting everything he was doing. _'I ought to rip that stick out your ass and beat you with it, you uppity bitch.'_ He snarled mentally and could feel himself losing in the battle to control his urge to fight and actually started to move towards her.

But that's when he noticed someone coming up towards them from behind Batgirl.

Thinking back on this moment later, both Black Hood and Batgirl would be embarrassed by the fact that they had gotten so distracted in arguing with one another to not notice that the very person they were after had almost snuck up on them. Even so, they both reacted in different ways.

Batgirl had seen his eyes flicker to a place behind her as something stole his attention and quickly summarised what it was and so, trusting her instincts leapt to one side.

It was a good job she had as a stream of gas flowed through the area she was. But unlike Batgirl, Black Hood had not moved out of the way quick enough and so, when he breathed in, he also took in some of the gas.

With a gasp, Black Hood dropped to his knees and coughed trying to clear his lungs of the gas that he had inhaled. Once his coughing fit had ceased he looked around seeing the world pulsing and blurred around the edges before they locked onto the sight of Barbara being beaten by Black Mask.

He didn't know how Black Mask had come back from the grave, all he saw was Barbara rushing to get away from the very man he had feared as a child. He saw red and with a roar, charged forwards and tackled Black Mask, picking him up and slamming him into one of the wooden crates. The two burst through it and rolled across the floor before coming to a stop.

"Black Hood, what are you doing?" The deceased crime lord questioned, rising to his feet warily.

"I don't know how you're alive." Black Hood didn't answer his question and instead glared hatefully at him. "But I'll kill you again if I have to." With that, he got to his feet and charged forwards.

Meanwhile, Scarecrow looked to see Black Hood engaging Batgirl in a fight and he couldn't help but give a short laugh at this. To think, he had been so worried about four heroes turning up to stop him and it turns out that one of their little party wasn't immune to his Fear Toxin.

Whatever Black Hood was seeing was something he feared, but it also seemed that if was something that filled him with rage. An interesting combination, yet not uncommon and it worked perfectly in his favour. With Batman and Robin too busy with Killer Croc upstairs, his biggest problem had being getting past Black Hood and Batgirl and it turns out that the little problem had sorted itself out perfectly.

Still, not one to waste an opportunity to escape, Scarecrow rushed out of his base intent putting as much distance between him and the Bat Family. _'And that'll be the last time I ever work with those Owls.'_ He vowed mentally.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Wednesday 8th, April, 19:15._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_East End._

Using Killer Crocs chest as a springboard, Robin backflipped through the air while simultaneously throwing Batarangs at the cannibalistic criminal. Still, Killer Croc had long since grown used to fighting Batman and Robin and smacked them to one side so that they harmlessly exploded away from him.

Clicking his teeth in annoyance, Robin sprang to one side avoiding the heavy crate thrown his way.

Batman himself, jumped down from the rafters, using Robins distraction to land a kick on Waylon's head. The force behind it knocked the mutated humans head down and made him bend his knees as to better absorb the impact.

With a growl, he swiped at Batman only to hit nothing but air and then hear the sound of beeping.

Knowing what this meant, he charged at Batman who had just landed on the ground only for the hero to use a grappling hook to get out of harms way. That's when the numerous charges that had been planted on his head exploded dazing the superhuman for a few moments.

But it was not enough to knock him unconscious.

"The distributions not being stopped." Robin informed his mentor, having used this break to check on what was happening downstairs.

That's when they heard a low growl that rose in volume and turned to see Killer Croc glaring at them, his scaled head lightly singed. Quickly thinking over what to do, Batman came to a quick conclusion and gave a nod to Robin.

The two then pulled out a few small, black balls and chucked them on the ground filling to room with smoke that clouded their vision as they exploded. But this wasn't just any fog, it had been specifically designed by Batman to counter those with super senses, like enhanced smell. If this was normal fog, those individuals could have been able to discern the position of Batman and a Robin if they had the proper training. Therefore, Batman had modified his smoke bombs to also be filled with a strong scent that masked his and anyone else's in the cloud of smoke.

As a result, Waylon was blind and unable to find either Batman or Robin.

Eventually though, the smoke cleared and the superhuman looked around to see that both the superheroes had disappeared. That's when he felt something pierce into his skin and looked to see two needles poking out of his back and were connected to a metal wire of some sorts.

Then came the electric current which caused Killer Croc to roar out in pain before he angrily ripped them out and tugging on them. Yet, Batman nor Robin were pulled down as a result and instead, only received a modified taser.

Crushing it in his hand, Waylon snarled and started looking round for any sight of Batman. "Come out, Batman." He growled, his feet stomping on the ground as he started to move around. "I can't wait to feast on you."

That's when he heard the sound of something cutting through the air and turned to see numerous Batarangs coming straight at him. They were too close and moving too quickly for him to avoid or stop them so he instead, braced himself as he once again found himself engulfed in an explosion.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Wednesday 8th, April, 19:15._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_East End._

Fighting Black Hood was harder than she had expected.

Much harder.

His skill was certainly not amateurish like Robin had described, but it definitely had a number of holes in it. Batgirl could now see why common thugs posed no threat to Gotham's newest vigilante.

But still, she had faced more skilled and more dangerous opponents than him.

So why she was struggling to keep up was definitely a mystery.

Every hole in his defence and offence showed itself as plain as day, yet every time she exploited said hole, it wouldn't even stall Black Hood. Sometimes it would daze him for a few moments allowing her to move back and gain some breathing room, but in most cases he just kept coming.

At first, she had the advantage.

Every strike that came her way was blocked, parried or evaded completely. And each time she did so, a new opening in his defence would present itself to her. Yet as time went by, it was like he was adapting, learning how she fought and changing his style as the fight went on.

Every time she landed a blow, he no longer took the blow, feeling dazed as he did so before coming back at her. No, now he learned to move with the momentum of her strike and use that to not only stay up close and personal, but to also use that momentum to give his next strike even more power all the while minimising the amount of damage he took.

For her, that was a dangerous thing to deal with, her sprained wrist could attest to that.

Ducking under a blow, Batgirl jumped into the air and landed a knee to the underside of his jaw before pushing off his chest to gain some room. Both of them were suspended in the air temporarily before landing on the ground and rolling to their feet.

She knew that the blow hadn't done much damage to him, he had already started jumping in the air, his head moved back so she only clipped his chin with her knee, mitigating the damage she dealt. It was honestly starting to get a little annoying to see him getting better and better, forever closing that gap between them bit by bit.

No words were shared as they stared at her, Batgirl had soon realised that whatever he was seeing while under the influence of the Fear Toxin, had blinded him with such rage that he didn't even spare the time to think let alone speak before charging in once more.

Like now for example, the roar escaped him from his lips as he rushed her once more.

The jab-cross combo with dodged with a simple movement of her head and she responded with an uppercut. To avoid this, Black Hood leaned his body to one side, allowing her fist to brush along the side of his face. Continuing with this, Batgirl hooked her arm round his shoulder, stepping in close and clasping her wrist together.

A twist of her wrist and hips nearly picked Black Hood off the ground, however he responded by shifting his footing ever so slightly and turned the tables upon her.

Grunting, Batgirl tried to put some distance between him and her, but he had gripped onto her cape and instead threw her into a pile of wooden crates. Quickly shaking her heads Batgirl got to her feet as Black Hood charged at her once more, never giving her time to rest of recover.

Punch after punch was thrown at Batgirl who masterfully dodged every single one thrown her way, parrying those she couldn't. Every now and then, she would throw a kick or a jab at Black Hood only for it to barely stall her opponent.

He just kept coming.

That's when they were both rocked by the sound of an explosion, the force of it picking them both off their feet and launching them through the air, skidding slightly as they landed before coming to a stop.

Groaning, Batgirl winced as her ears rang while she looked around to see what was happening. All she could see was flames from the various mixers that had been producing Fearless Toxin and looked to see where Black Hood had gone or who had caused the explosion.

Luckily for her, Black Hood had been closer to the explosion and had landed head first on the ground knocking him unconscious and therefore, unable to attack her in her dazed and vulnerable state.

"-rl!" Wincing, she looked to see Robin rushing towards her and she realised that he had done this. "-girl!" That was good, it meant that they had succeeded in ruining Scarecrows supply of the new toxin, even if he had escaped. "Batgirl!" Looking up, Batgirl saw Robin crouch down beside her. "You okay?"

"Yea, I'm fine." She muttered, rubbing her head to get rid of the headache that was beginning to form.

"Where's Scarecrow?" He asked and Batgirl shook her head which was all the answer Robin needed. With a nod of his head, Robin activated his holographic computer that was connected to his wrist watch and started to trace the tracker that was still on Scarecrow. "I've got him."

Then he took off, leaving Batgirl kneeled there as she looked to the unconscious form of the Black Hood.

Looking closer she could actually see that his hood had become a little dislodged and looked at the few locks of blonde hair the poked out from underneath. It was bright, almost sun kissed and reminded her of Naruto's hair for how bright it is.

_'Could it?'_ She questioned, the line of thought entering her mind and refusing to leave as she's examined Black Hood closer. Same build, same height, bright blonde hair and blue eyes and from what she remembered of the way Naruto fought earlier today, they had similar fighting styles, near identical actually. _'Except, Black Hood was a little more aggressive but that was mainly because he had two knives where Naruto had one. It could be, but why?'_

Overcome with curiosity, she moved closer and reached out to pull Black Hoods hood down further as get a better look. But just as her hand came within inches of touching his hood, another hand gripped her wrist stopping her before she could.

Looking up, she saw that the hand belonged to Batman. "What are you doing?" He asked and Batgirl looked at him in shock, mostly because she didn't know why he was stopping her and also because he had come out of nowhere.

"I'm seeing who he is, don't you want to know?" She asked and Batman said nothing, but it was the look he gave her that made her understand why he had stopped her. "You already know." She summarised. "Of course you do, you would have never worked alongside him if you didn't know who he was or at least have a strong suspicion."

Batman let go of her wrist and instead crouched down beside Black Hood, moving his hood back into place while Batgirl rose to her feet.

"Scarecrow?" Batman asked, trying to change the topic and while Batgirl wanted to press this further, she didn't.

"Gone, but Robins going after him."

Nodding his head, Batman picked Black Hood up and put him over his shoulder. "Return to the cave." He said before exiting the warehouse, leaving Batgirl there alone and despite his orders, Batgirl couldn't leave without having the answers she wanted, no needed.

She needed to know if Naruto was Black Hood because she would…

_'What would I do?'_ She asked herself once more. _'No, I'll deal with that later, right now I need answers.'_ With that, Batgirl made to follow after Batman, he couldn't have gotten far with Black Hood unconscious. Therefore allowing her to catch up relatively quickly.

She would get answers tonight about Black Hoods true identity and that's all that mattered to her right now.

**A/N: Another chapter done and with it, a Scarecrow has quickly been introduced as only a pawn for someone else's grand schemes for Gotham City. The team up between Naruto, Barbara, Robin and Batman went as well as expected and I hoped you liked how they didn't get along straight away. Despite their profession, they're still kids and are not completely capable of acting professional on the mission yet. Not even Robin who has been doing this longer than Barbara or Naruto.**

**And then there's the introduction of the mysterious figure who was watching Naruto and the Bat Family while they attacked Scarecrows warehouse and informed said villain of their arrival. Naruto has attracted the attention of some powerful people for his ways and not all of them are good like Batman. And there will be more.**

**Anyway, next chapter will be much slower as it will introduce the main villain of this arc. So I hope you eagerly await the next chapter.**

**But right now, let's get on with the questions:**

**jrayeni: For the most part it will be the act of manipulating the elements (Ninjutsu), but I'll probably include things like runes (Fūinjutsu), Illusions (Genjutsu) and I'll probably have Naruto create the Rasengan though whether that will be through magic or his own Metahuman ability is unknown just yet.**

**tamagat: Yes, Naruto will gain abilities. I'm thinking of using his tailed beast transformations as his Metahuman ability and making him something like the DCs Hulk, as in the angrier he gets the stronger he becomes. Also he will learn magic. So yes, Naruto will gain powers but right now it's more about introducing him to the world of superheroes/villains and then he will gain powers.**

**Yohnos: Scarecrow created the Fearless Toxin because he was paid to and also, he's the only one who knows how to make it. It's not permanent and will wear off, but Scarecrow agreed to make it for the chaos it will cause which will be expanded upon further next chapter.**

**Also no, they won't take the product for themselves and it will instead be destroyed.**

**Narcita: Most are from the Young Justice Tv series and if they're not on there, use their New 52 appearance unless I say otherwise. But for the most part, most will be like their Young Justice appearance.**

**Ezeakel: I actually loosely hinted at the end of the Black Mask Arc about Batman using Naruto's blood that had left a trail to run it through the database to learn who it belonged to. I didn't actually show this or mention this had happened as I wanted it to be part of Batmans character. He doesn't need to explain how he knows certain things and it's similar in comics, sometimes he just knows certain information without any explanation as to how. **

**Also, Naruto confirmed this for him when they fought, partly because Naruto knew that Batman would only appear here at his room if he knew or had a 99% suspicion that Naruto was Black Hood and didn't decide to hide it. The people reading this story know how smart Batman and is and therefore, I didn't want to explain exactly how Batman learned Naruto's alter ego.**

**Panther-10: He is slightly, not to the extent of Batman, but enough that it misleads people.**

**Kid Coheed: Right, well it's currently boots with cargo pants, a bullet roof vest underneath a hoodie, that has a face mask (similar to that of Kakashi) sown into the hood in order to ensure that the hood doesn't fall off. He also has gun holsters on each hip with a knife strapped to each thigh. It's pretty basic, but that's because Naruto isn't super rich nor does he have access to vast amounts of technology. **

**And don't worry, I have taken into account the time skip, I probably won't make it as long simply, maybe a year shorter, but it will still be a pretty big time skip. Probably putting Naruto into his early twenties. **

**Yakuza2010: Thank you, a lot of people don't like it, but to be honest and I think it's pretty unrealistic to expect Naruto who at best was on par with an amateur fighter and expect him to put up a fight against Robin and others. So I'm really glad to see that you understand my frustration with how some people intentionally right OP characters and don't provide explanations or examples of him learning from his mistakes. **

**Samuel Santillan: Thank you for your support, it means a lot to me. As for the suggestions, right now I regret to tell you that I can't as I'm mainly focusing on this story but you can be assured that if I need a break and decide to write something new I'll definitely consider one of those.**

**GamerX568: To be honest, I don't know I guess its just one of those things people do. O guess when people think of gods they think of overwhelmingly powerful beings, hence overpowered, but in DC it's not really true as there are plenty of people that aren't gods on par and surpassing them.**

**nliochristou: Yes, definitely in fact this arc is inspired by the Batman vs Robin movie and I have a few others coming into play later on as well.**

**Anyway, hope this clears up any questions and if not, please let me know in a review so that I can answer them to the best of my ability without spoiling the future plot. **


	8. Chapter VII - The Talon

**Injustice: The Path to Hell.**

**Book 1: A Journeys Beginning.**

**Chapter VII – The Talon.**

"Normal Speech."

_'Normal Thought.'_

**"Demon Speech."**

**_'Demon Thought.'_**

_Location/Time_

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Thursday 9th, April, 00:15._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_East End._

Batman deposited the unconscious form of Naruto gently on his bed before moving into the main sitting area of the young man's apartment. As he passed the area upon which they fought he frowned at the mess, taking note of the dents in walls, the shattered table and chairs, upturned couch and the broken photo frames.

He would admit that while he had expected Naruto to attack him when he first made his appearance, he had not anticipated such a violent response. Nor had he expected Naruto to put up such a fight. Though looking back on it now, he should have expected such a response.

None the less, he did feel guilty for how badly the apartment had been destroyed and he made a note to help in the refurbishing of the place.

A groan from the bedroom made him look to see, Naruto slowly dragging himself out of bed, rubbing his head to no doubt ease the headache he was suffering from. Standing quietly, he waited as the young vigilante slowly walked into the living room, pausing slightly as he took in who was in his apartment.

"Batman?"

Despite the obvious question in the young man's tone, Batman never gave any inclination that he had heard him, instead continuing to look out over Gotham city.

"So what happened tonight exactly?" Naruto asked and this time, Batman answered.

"You inhaled some of Scarecrows Fear Toxin and while under its influence, you attacked Batgirl allowing him to escape." Through the reflection in the mirror, Batman could see Naruto was about to speak. "Robin caught up and has captured Scarecrow. You were knocked unconscious by the explosives Robin set to disable Scarecrows production of the Fearless Toxin."

"Did anyone…"

"No." Batman replied making sure to keep quiet about how he had to lose Batgirls trail who had been unusually motivated in trying to find out Naruto's identity. Even so, he was more than capable of fooling his apprentice. She had chased them for a good few moments before he finally managed to lose her, a very impressive showing from Batgirl, though at the time he hadn't been thinking that.

Releasing a sigh of relief, Naruto sat down on his couch and looked around at his room. Remembering how it had become such a mess, he groaned in annoyance at how much it would cost him to repair everything. That didn't even take into account the price and time it would take to find someone actually take to come to this part of time and do a good job.

"I will cover the cost of the repair." Batman spoke up and Naruto went to refuse outright but Batman cut him off again. "This is partly my fault and I shall take responsibility for this. Besides I have more than enough money to spare."

Despite himself, Naruto felt his lips twitch upwards at the last remark. "Alright." He accepted, knowing that it would save him a great deal of money and effort. Therefore, giving him more time to find out where those missing barrels of a Fearless Toxin had disappeared to.

Quickly a briefcase was put down in front of him and Naruto looked at it and then at Batman wondering exactly where he had hidden it.

While still curious of where exactly it had been hidden, Naruto's curiosity for what was inside was too great. Leaning forwards, he unclipped that latches and lifted it up to reveal some sort of body armour. One very similar to Batman's and unlike his, it was a full body one, even including a hood and built in face mask.

He looked up to see that Batman had turned around to face Naruto for the first time. "It's a Kevlar bodysuit, better protection against bullets and knives than your own suit." Naruto looked back at it and took a moment to run his fingers over the material. He could feel the difference and he almost accepted it outright.

However, after a few moments of consideration Naruto closed the lid of the case and pushed it back in Batmans direction. "I don't need it, I'm fine with my suit as it is."

Batman remained quiet, his gaze locked onto Naruto's hunched figure. "Now is not the time for your pride to get in the way. It won't protect you from a bullet or a knife, this will. It shouldn't matter where it came from." Batman growled out and Naruto grunted in disagreement.

"It's not a matter of protection, it's a matter of principal." He replied. "I don't agree with your code of not killing people, to me, accepting this would mean accepting that your code is better than my own because it came from you. I believe entirely that serial rapist can't rape another innocent man, woman or child if he's dead and let's face it, prisons aren't as secure as they used to be. The amount of times supervillains and criminals escape from them is frankly ridiculous, so killing them ends any and all attempts to repeat a crime. It's as simple as that."

"Except it's not." Batman replied. "I understand your reasoning quite well. In fact, when I first started I wanted so badly and came so close on many occasions to kill criminals. I thought the exact same way as you, that there can be no repeat offence if there's not alive to do so. But at the end of the day, that makes us no better than the criminals we are fighting."

Despite his words, Batman walked forwards and took the briefcase off the floor.

"You want to fight crime, you can't be a criminal." The masked vigilante continued. "Fighting fire with fire only burns those caught in the crossfire, the innocents. You kill criminals and you'll make them desperate enough to perform more dangerous and daring attempts to fight back that will only cause more death and destruction."

Turning on his heel, Batman headed towards Naruto's bedroom where the window he had entered through was still open.

But before he did so, he turned back to face Naruto. "It won't be you that suffers if you continue down this path, but it will be the innocent people caught in crossfire of your campaign. An animal that is cornered will have no choice but to fight back and fight back violently. Remember that next time you kill."

With Batman gone, Naruto ran one hand through his hair and with a groan fell back. "Shit."

He honestly didn't know what to say or do, but he sure as hell had a lot on his mind. Batmans words playing in a constant loop in his mind and the annoying part about it all, was it made perfect sense.

He had been cornered by Black Mask and lashed out, tearing down and destroying his criminal empire and killing all those that got in his way. The Falcone Family, Scarecrow, Killer Croc, they would all do far worse than him if put into a corner with no escape.

He could imagine the destruction they could cause if they were desperate and with nothing to lose. The Joker was a man with no morals and nothing to lose, all he wanted to do was cause as much chaos as he could to draw Batman out. With no powers or anything like that, the Joker was the single most terrifying individual out there simply because of the amount of destruction he could cause and the terror he inspired.

If he cornered other villains, would they be just as bad, or worse?

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_ Friday 17th, April, 21:30._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_Location Unknown._

Groaning in annoyance as her phone once again went straight to voicemail, Barbara placed her phone on the desk in front of her and looked at the various screens displaying key locations upon a map of Gotham City. Another screen showed various faces of criminals that had links to those arrested last Thursday, including those with connections to Scarecrows gang.

It had been a little over a week and Batman and the Gotham Police Department had been tearing apart the city in attempt to find a possible lead as to where Scarecrows Fearless Toxin was being hidden.

The idea of a city of criminals with no fear had a lit a fire under even the most slothful of police officers and it was not uncommon to find entire SWAT teams raiding abandoned building and known criminal locations two to three times a day. All in a bid to find the caches of Fearless Toxin that still eluded them all.

And while she, Batman and Robin worked round the clock to find any possible clue as to where they were hidden, nothing had come up yet at all.

It was frustrating.

Not to mention there was the question as to why Scarecrow had created this new batch of Toxin considering his whole path to power had been carved by inspiring fear in those that followed him. So taking away said fear seemed pointless and counter productive.

She and the others were starting to think that there was more to this than what meets the eye. Jonathan Crane had been unusually quiet and almost scared as he was loaded up into a police van to be transported back to Arkham. It was unusual and had stuck in her mind for a long while.

Could Scarecrow be working for someone else and had been forced to make a toxin that removed fear from a person? It would certainly explain why he did it in the first place, but again she didn't have any concrete proof just yet so it was nothing more than speculation.

Sighing, Barbara picked up her phone once more and went to speed dial, selecting Naruto's number. She would admit that she and Naruto hadn't spoken as much recently mostly because of the whole Scarecrow debacle, something which she had explained and Naruto had been perfectly fine with.

But it was mostly because Barbara couldn't get the image of Black Hoods blonde hair and blue eyes out of her head. She already knew that Naruto and Black Hood had a similar shade of blonde hair, blue eyes and a near identical build but she didn't know if it was Naruto for sure.

Barbara didn't want to suddenly accuse Naruto of being the Black Hood in case he wasn't, she didn't want to be that person. But at the same time, Black Hood had been unusually quiet, only making a few short appearances here and there across Gotham as he conducted his own search into the whereabouts of the Fearless Toxin.

Not to mention Batman had rebuffed her questions into Black Hoods identity and had even spent a long time travelling aimlessly around Gotham just to lose her and he had. She had lost him somewhere in Gotham Heights and hadn't been able to pick up his trial again and so she had called off search for the night.

Though that hadn't stopped Bruce from berating her when he got back to the Batcave.

Whoever Black Hood was, Bruce didn't want her finding out. Whether that was for Black Hood's or her protection, Bruce hadn't said.

Giving Naruto's number a ring once more she groaned in annoyance as it once again went straight to voicemail. She was getting really sick of it and after chucking her phone onto the table with a careless toss, Barbara looked back at the screen.

Bruce was out at a charity ball to keep up pretences as a playboy with Dick out on the hunt at one of the more well-protected Scarecrow safe-houses. From the sounds of it though, it was going to be another bust and of course, she was stuck here being the observer of it all.

Well, she was meant to be resting having spent all last night and this morning searching the leads she had gotten only for them to be dead ends. But sleep escaped her and so she was restless and wide awake with nothing but time on her hands.

"You should really be resting, Miss Gordon." The elderly British voice of the butler, Alfred broke Barbara from her thoughts. Turning to the right she looked to see Alfred walking towards her with a tray adorned with cups and a pot held perfectly in place by one hand.

"Rests beyond me right now, Alfred." She responded calmly with a smile on her face.

Placing the tray beside her on the desk, he gently poured her a steaming cup of tea. "And what seems to be occupying your mind tonight?" He asked, stepping back to allow Barbara to pour herself some tea and put in a cube of sugar. "Is it perhaps your suspicions upon who Black Hood might be?"

Barbara sighed knowing that Alfred had always been perceptive at picking up on what was bothering those around him. It was a talent or a skill that must come with being a butler and it was one of the reasons he was so loved by those around him.

"Yes." She replied looking at her phone. "I just, I feel like Black Hood has to be Naruto. So many things match up, but at the same time they could be explained away as mere coincidence." Admitting it frustrated her more than anything and Alfred placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it slightly as a sign of silent support.

"One thing I have learned in my time with working with Master Wayne, Master Dick and yourself, Miss Gordon is that your gut instinct and deductive abilities are rarely wrong. If you truly believe that he is Black Hood then I have no doubt you are correct." He replied and Barbara smiled slightly, but shook her head negatively.

"And what if I'm wrong this time?" She questioned further. "What if I confront Naruto, accuse him of being the Black Hood and I'm proven wrong? Naruto wouldn't know it's me, but I would know what I did and I wouldn't be able to forgive myself."

"Have you searched thoroughly?" Alfred asked, frowning at seeing how this was tearing her up inside.

Barbara nodded her head in agreement and Alfred smiled slightly as seeing how much she truly cared for her friend. It did make him feel sorry for the girl to see her so torn up on going behind her friend like she was, but at the same time it showed just how much she cared for him. He knew that Bruce and Dick would have trouble finding a meaningful relationship, they were both torn up by their pasts and while Dick was certainly better than Bruce, it did not mean much.

Barbara however was different.

She had been motivated to fight crime as Batgirl for a number of reasons. But the main reason was because of her friend, Naruto. She had meaningful relationships before becoming Batgirl and had always fought to protect those she cared about and it pleased him to see that at least one of them had a future with another.

"Then perhaps you should see what he is doing tonight?" He offered as a means of directing Barbara's attention elsewhere. "Go to him, spend time with him and rest. If he's Black Hood then the more time you spend with him, the greater the chance he'll slip up and reveal himself."

Barbara nodded her head and with a smile of gratitude directed at the butler, she turned back to the computer. "Thank you, Alfred." She said and Alfred bowed before leaving the Batcave.

Turning back to the computer, she started typing away at the keyboard.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Friday 17th, April, 22:30._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_East End._

It had been easy to find Naruto after she took the advice of Alfred, frustratingly easy in fact. She was not perfect, she knew that. Everyone no matter how good were prone to make mistakes and overlook key details. Barbara knew that even Bruce could make these mistakes.

However, she knew that he never did when it counted.

Finding the answer to the quandary of whether Naruto was Black Hood was so obvious that it frustrated her to how blind she had been. A quick tracking of Naruto using the computer in the Batcave had quickly pinpointed his location and from there, it was matter of travelling through Gotham to his location.

Honestly, the fact that she had stressed out over this for so long was annoying when the answer had been so obvious.

But then again, perhaps that's why she had overlooked it. So used to searching deeper and desperate for the hidden clues, she never took a step back and looked at the bigger picture. She never lost sight of her end goal, but she never looked at the easier ways of finding the truth simply because they were too obvious. In her line of work, the obvious answer was almost always the wrong one.

And so after little over week, she was presented with the chance to gain some answers.

When tracking his phone, the computer had quickly pinpointed his location to be in the northern sector of the East End, the most rundown and crime ridden part of the East End. Naruto himself rarely ever entered that area and considering his apartment was in the south, closer to Gotham Heights then it beggared the question as to what exactly he was doing there?

From what she knew, Naruto himself had no real reason to go there. But Black Hood, well he has the perfect reason for being there. It was where crime thrived, even under Batmans watchful gaze.

Though why he was here was another question entirely. The police, Batman and herself had already torn apart this area in their search for the caches of a Fearless Toxin. None had been found.

So why was he here?

Looking down at the figure of Black Hood as he peaked down over the side of a building at where she could see a group of thugs working tirelessly to carry some sort of contraband into the relatively nice looking building across the street.

It was not run down like most buildings so it kind of stood out in this area of town, but even then it was not saying much. It still had a few broken windows and copious amounts of graffiti on the side. Still, it was much better to look at than the rest of the apartments and houses that looked down rundown junkie joints. Which she knew from prior knowledge that they actually were just that, or most of them were anyway.

Some served as conference centres for shady business dealings between criminals, others were storage areas.

Activating her holographic computer connected to her wrist watch, Barbara looked at the beeping blip on the map, a blip that was in the exact same position of Black Hood.

"Damnit Naruto." She cursed quietly, as she looked at Naruto with a sigh. Despite being happy that she finally had an answer to the question that had been on her mind since the incident, it did not bring her any measure of real joy or sense of accomplishment at all. In fact, it made her feel worse.

Unfurling her cape, Barbara jumped off the building using the added surface area provided by her cape to glide down gently and silently onto same rooftop as Naruto and slowly moved up beside him.

He did not make any move as she crouched down, she having made sure to make just enough noise to alert him to her presence. This had caused him to spare a brief glance over his shoulders at her before dismissing her entirely.

"I don't need yours or Batmans help." He replied sharply and Barbara said nothing, her eyes torn between looking at Naruto and what the the thugs were doing. She knew that really all she wanted to do was drag him to his apartment and confront him about being Black Hood, but Barbara knew that the thugs down below took priority for now.

She could prioritise and besides, she knew from personal experience that while raw and untrained, Naruto was more than a match for any thug. With her at his side they would be able to deal with those numbers easily.

So she would wait for now.

"Batman didn't send me." She replied and Naruto spared her a glance before shrugging and looking through a pair of binoculars down at the thugs below.

It was honestly surprising to her how successful he had been so far considering his limited resources. She had built in lenses that could zoom in and out as well as take photographic and video evidence of anything she wanted. A marvellous piece of technology that worked perfectly in providing evidence to lock up some of the more elusive and influential criminals in Gotham.

Still, she could not dwell on that for long and instead addressed her main concern as to him wasting his time and getting in over his head. "You do realise Batman, Robin and myself as well as the police have already searched this area, right?"

Naruto remained silent, but by the way he tensed he was a little irritated at her pointing out that fact. "Yes, I know." He replied shortly and it honestly hurt to be treated so coldly by her childhood friend even if he did not realise that it was her. Barbara knew that Naruto had his misgivings about her alter ego and that she and him, Batgirl and Black Hood hadn't exactly gotten on well the last time they met.

"So why are you here?" She questioned further because from what she was seeing, if Naruto went down there he would not be escaping alive and if he did, he would be severely injured. His fighting skills while good would not help when facing off against the twenty thugs outside, plus the further fifteen inside. Those numbers were too large even for him and even she would have trouble. It was not impossible but she doubted she could deal with them and escape uninjured.

"Because I have a high suspicion that the Fearless Toxin is in one of the hideouts in this area." He replied and Barbara went to repeat her earlier point when Naruto beat her to it. "And yes, I heard you the first time. You and Batman already searched this area and it's exactly for that reason why I think it's here."

"Okay, you've lost me." Despite the mask covering the lower half of his face, she could pick out the movement that indicated he was smiling beneath his mask at her confusion. She did not know how she felt about that, if she did not have her mask on she would respond in kind. Just like Barbara would have responded to Naruto being snarky and teasing, like he was now. But she did not want to give Naruto a reason to suspect her as Batgirl, not just yet until she was ready.

For now, she was content to know that he was Black Hood and she could convince him to stop as just Barbara who happened to figure out who he was. Yea, that sounded like a plan. It allowed her to avoid revealing who she really was and save Naruto's life.

"I have this friend." Naruto spoke, breaking her from her thoughts as she looked up to his eyes. Thanks to the hyper focus lenses she could pick out the warmth in his gaze beneath his hood as he mentioned the word 'friend' and it warmed her heart in turn. "We used to play hide and seek loads when we were young and she always used to win."

He chuckled lowly, thinking back to the memory fondly. She herself remembered those times vividly. Naruto had always being the more athletic and sporty of the two and so whenever it came to games like that he always won. But when it came to hide and seek she would always win, it used to drive him mad.

"Every time we played she'd always move to a place I'd looked before and it would lead me on this wild goose chase for ages." Naruto looked back over the ledge once more and down at the thugs below. "So if my six year old friend could figure out the best way to hide something was in somewhere people had checked, then I'm pretty sure whoever took the Fearless a Toxin right out from mine and Batmans noses could do the same."

Barbara remained silent, stunned into silence at his reasoning because in all honesty, it made a lot of sense. As silly as it was to compare thugs hiding a dangerous toxin to a game of hide and seek between six year olds, his reasoning as to why he thought it was here was frighteningly accurate.

And made perfect sense.

Before she could voice this however, someone else beat her to the punch. "Very good, Black Hood." Slow clapping caused the two to spin around and stare as a figure dressed in a black combat outfit, and a black mask with gold highlights shaped into what appeared to be an owl stepped out from the shadows. "Or should I call you, Naruto Uzumaki?"

Tensing, Naruto spared a glance at Batgirl before locking eyes with the masked figure. "Who the hell are you?" He demanded to know as Batgirl slowly moved away as to position herself to the right of the figure.

"You can call me a Talon." He replied before he turned to Batgirl. "Moving yourself to my right won't help you much I'm afraid." Despite his face being hidden, his amusement was clearly heard through the tone of his voice and both young crime fighters tensed.

"What do you want?" Barbara questioned, her hand moving to palm a few Batarangs should the situation require them. By the looks of things, it would be necessary very soon.

The Talon said nothing, only looking between Naruto and Barbara in amusement before finally answering her question. "I'm here under the orders of my masters to test you, Naruto Uzumaki." He extenuated this point by looking directly at the blonde which instantly made the two far more alert and wary of the individual in front of them.

"What do you want with him?" Batgirl questioned, her voice harsh and almost panicked which made Naruto look at her in temporary confusion.

"Now that, Barbara Gordon." This reveal made Naruto's eyes widen in shock unable to comprehend the bombshell that had been revealed to him. "Is a question for another time." With that, the Talon leapt into action in a flurry of quick steps that left the two temporarily stunned.

Naruto who was still in a state of shock at Batgirls true identity was unable to react at all as the Talon slammed a perfectly executed sidekick into Naruto's chest with enough force to send him flying backwards and over the ledge of the building.

"Naruto!" Barbara exclaimed in shock, going to help her childhood friend only for the Talon to appear in front of her. Stumbling backwards to put some distance between herself and the foe before her, Barbara narrowed her eyes in anger before sliding into a fighting stance.

Even with the mask covering his face, she could tell the Talon was smirking. "Now, now Miss Gordon." The Talon taunted. "Have some faith in your young friend and focus more on yourself." And then he was upon with equally fast and ferocious strikes that left her completely on the defensive.

It took every ounce of skill she had to just parry the first blow and even then, she struggled to do that in time. Not to mention that as soon as she parried one strike, another would be within inches of striking her.

Barbara had come across and fought many skilled fighters, but none had ever matched the level of her teacher, Batman. Bruce was fast, powerful and extremely skilled with a terrifying intellect that allowed him to contend with the strongest of individuals in this world. However, the Talon was a foe that in her eyes was his equal in nearly every way, except for one.

The Talon did not hold back.

Batman when teaching her and Dick to fight held back in their spars as to not injure them. Even when fighting villains, Batman held back as to not kill them.

The Talon however, had no such restrictions. Each blow that she blocked or parried sent vibrations throughout her entire body and they almost moved faster than she could react.

In this sense, the Talon was far more dangerous than Bruce and that thought terrified her.

It was only a matter of time before she was hit and when one of his strikes slipped through her guard, the uppercut digging into her stomach driving all the air out of her lungs was just as painful as she had imagined it would be. Temporarily, her vision darkened as she was lifted off the ground, her body folding over his fist as spittle fell from her mouth.

Removing his fist from her stomach, the Talon stepped back and watched Batgirl dropped to her knees gagging and coughing.

She was skilled, there was no doubt about that.

But she was nowhere near ready enough to face an opposition of his caliber. In time she would be able to, but as of now she was easy to take care of. It was unfortunate that killing her now was not an option, she would prove to be troublesome in the future, but if he did he would irrecoverably ruin any chance of recruiting Naruto like his masters desired.

"Such a shame." Turning around, he looked to see Naruto pulling himself back up over the ledge. He was not surprised at this development, he and his masters both believed that the young boy would prove to be an excellent replacement Talon in the future. He just required training, a blade that needed forging properly. Once that was done, then there was no doubt that Naruto would be a very dangerous asset.

If he had died from that fall, then it would have simply saved them the time and effort to train a failure.

"I see you survived." The Talon spoke and Naruto pulled out the knives strapped his thighs and spun them on the palm of his hands before holding them in a reverse grip. "Shall we?"

Without saying anything, Naruto charged forwards and swung at the Talon who masterfully directed Naruto's strike away from himself. But Naruto did not overextend, instead correcting his footing and coming round another swipe that the Talon leaned back as to avoid only marginally, the blade a hairs breadth away from cutting the mask covering his face.

Still, the Talon had to fully move away upon catching Naruto's foot coming up in a roundhouse kick, the second swipe having been used as a feint/cover for the real strike.

However, while a good tactic it was far too slow and far too choreographed. Therefore, easy to avoid and so he jumped backwards a small distance so that the kick missed him by a good few feet.

It was obvious Naruto had intended for that to be a crushing blow by the fact that he nearly did a full three-sixty before managing to regain his balance. Yet, the Talon did not capitalise on that opening due to the fact that he heard the sound of whistling as someone cut through the air.

Ducking low, he noticed the Batarangs embedding the wall behind him, but they did not explode. No doubt an intent to injure him while also not alerting the thugs below that their location had been discovered.

A smart ploy if he had not already informed them of this development before engaging the two of them. Already the Fearless Toxin should be packed up and on the move to another location.

Still, he did not get long to think on this as both Batgirl and Black Hood closed in on him. The two unleashing a flurry of attacks and he was almost impressed at their teamwork, their fighting styles complementing the two almost perfectly.

Naruto was a brawler and a tank, capable of taking quite a bit of punishment before starting to show any sign of slowing down due to any injury. Not to mention there was the fact that his stamina was freakishly impressive, it was one of the things that had caught his eye and by extension his masters when studying him.

Barbara on the other hand was very much a flexible and almost acrobatic fighter. Using her more flexible body and speed to move around Naruto and attack from awkward angles that for ordinary fighters would be extremely difficult and impossible to block. Unluckily for them, he was far from ordinary.

On more than one occasion the Talon was forced to block a punch or kick from one angle, and another strike from the complete opposite angle. And as a result, the Talon was forced to concede ground, stepping back again and again as to put himself in a more favourable defensive position against the unending onslaught from the two fighters.

But at the end of the day, it was only a short lived victory for the two fighters.

Having seen all he needed to from Naruto, the Talon was no longer content to simply defend and so, went on the offensive.

Blocking a high kick from Barbara, he gripped the young girls ankle and pulled her towards him. The sudden change in movement from her opponent put Barbara off balance enough for the Talon to land a kick to her stomach.

In most cases, Naruto would have been there to block such an attack. However, he too had fallen victim to the Talons sudden change in tactics.

While Barbara had gone for the kick, Naruto had gone for a punch to the sternum, aiming to wind their opponent. The Talon had in turn blocked this, much like Naruto had expected. But what came next was not something Naruto had expected as the Talon simultaneously pulled Naruto towards him and pushed his fist down.

This movement jerked Naruto off balance and left him completely open to the quick jab that smashed into his cheek and whipped his head to one side.

Therefore he did not see the kick heading towards Barbara exposed side and even if he had, he was far too dazed from that single punch to do anything to stop it and so, Barbara could do nothing but gasp in shocked pain as the kick smashed into her side. The force behind it was enough to send her slamming into the wall behind her and even freed the Batarangs that had been embedded there still.

Grunting, Naruto regained his balance, one hand braced on the floor before spinning round to charge the Talon once more. His arms wrapped around the Talons waist and driving him back.

Yet the Talon was not to be undone and after digging his feet into the ground and bringing Naruto's momentum to a grinding halt, began to slam elbows into the young man's exposed back. After a few strikes, he hooked his arms between the gaps that had appeared between Naruto's arms and his waist and pulled Naruto up to his full height.

There the Talon began to truly unleash a plethora of blows upon Naruto who despite trying his best could not block or parry them all. The first few he managed to block with a cross guard, but after that he was unable to keep up.

Two blows to the stomach had Naruto instinctively lowering his guard to cover his abused area. Another few blows to the face had Naruto stumbling back in a daze. This was followed by the Talon simultaneously gripping Naruto's head and bringing him down while jumping into the air to slam a knee into his face.

That single blow sent Naruto's head whipping back, blood dribbling down his face from his broken nose.

With his stomach fully exposed, the Talon almost lazily spun around a slammed a spinning kick to his stomach that sent him back into the ledge. Luckily his back slammed into the raised wall stopping him from falling off the edge as unlike before, he would not have been able to grab ahold of a small handhold at the side of the building.

Looking down at Naruto, the Talon then looked at Barbara to see her groaning and struggling to her feet.

They were had potential, a lot of it. But right now, both had only just begun to scratch the surface and it would be a long time till they were able to fight individuals like him on even ground.

Still, he could see exactly why Batman had taken such an interest in them.

With nary a word, the Talon leaped off the edge of the building and disappeared from the area all together, leaving both the vigilantes beaten and defeated on the rooftop.

**A/N: A shorter chapter than usual but really, this was always going to be a short chapter that shows how Barbara and Naruto figure out each other's alter egos as well as introducing the Talon and by extension the Court of Owls. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and if you did please leave a review with any questions, complaints (constructive not flames as you will be ignored) as well as any suggestions. **

**Now, onto the questions:**

**Guest: Right now, Naruto's powers will be based off his Kyuubi powers and basically I intend to make him the DC universes version of the Hulk. Basically, the angrier he gets the stronger he becomes. I also plan to give him magic so that he can recreate some techniques like the Rasengan and stuff like that.**

**Xud10a: While I accept your opinion that this isn't you, I don't think that Naruto is determined by his chakra. There are plenty of manga, comics, movies and tv shows that say that powers do not define a person. So while I don't agree with the idea that Naruto's isn't Naruto without chakra, I will accept it as your opinion and I'm disappointed that you don't enjoy this story so far. Hopefully you will do later on, but I understand that I can't please everyone.**

**YMCM: Yea, A Third Path to the Future is an amazing story to read though at times I find it can be a bit too difficult to read due to how big the chapters are. So I tend to get lost and/or bored at times. That's why I never try to exceed 15,000 words per chapter so that you can read one easily enough in one sitting and if you really feel like it go through an entire story in one go. As for Naruto's teachers, already got that planned out, but I definitely going to have Zatanna and a few other magicians teach him a few things here or there.**

**As for his Metahuman ability, well let's just say that I've got an entire arc planned out later on based around this ability. And thank you for the clarification I will admit that I got a bit confused at one point because I read to conflicting notes on his transformations with one naming a certain form one way and the other a completely different way.**

**DicloniumZero: Definitely something I will consider, I won't have it included just yet, but I guess you can say that the groundwork has already been placed and when he gets a proper trainer this style could be developed.**

**MonkeyDGabry: No, partly because that's already been done. What I do plan to do is create an entirely new hero team that Naruto will be a part of. His position in the team is as of yet, undetermined but he will definitely be high up in the hierarchy of said team. But that won't be for a long while. Right now, the only team he's willingly going to join is the Young Justice team and that's only because of certain problems that will explained at a later date.**

**Also, don't worry, Naruto will learn Senjutsu as its awesome and will lead to him developing Six Paths Senjutsu Mode, which is again, awesome. However, he won't be Gaea's champion and it will instead be something a little different.**

**tamagat: Don't worry, Naruto will get his first lot of powers in only another two chapters or so. It won't be too overpowering, but another few chapters after that is when Naruto will unlock his Kyūbi like Metahuman powers. So hopefully the wait will be worth it.**

**Djberneman: You mean kind of like Doomsday? If so, while that's cool and certainly something I could do later on. It's not something I'll include straight a way.**

**Vizard890: Yes, the Court of Owls make their appearance as does the Talon. And yes, they do plan to turn Naruto into a Talon and yes, Naruto will definitely not agree with joining their cause. As for learning from them, no that will not happen but it would be a cool story thread. But no, this arc is about getting Naruto to learn to fight alongside and work with others even if he doesn't agree with their viewpoint. The last arc was about getting Naruto to stop being afraid and stand up to fight for those he cares about, to get stronger in order to protect them. This arc is about teamwork.**

**reader0007: Oh it's fine don't worry about it, it wasn't just you, in fact I was actually quite alright with the first few reviews that kept on pointing out this wasn't Naruto. It was when I started getting people insulting me and stuff like that when I really decided I had enough and put the whole rant in. Also it wasn't your fault so don't worry about it. The reason I stopped writing was because I had loads of work to get done and also because I was planning out loads of stuff for this story so I had next to no time for over things. **

**I mean, I've already got upwards of like forty chapters planned out and I've got enough story ideas to last another forty or so chapters as well. I wasn't lying when I said this story is going to be long. Whether I get it all done is another matter because I keep on coming up with new ideas and story arcs that I just can't resist.**

**Amagvillegas: Yea, I've received a few complaints about that, but to be completely honest Naruto's identity being revealed is something I always planned to happen early on. Naruto doesn't have the resources available to him that Bruce does, he struggles to pay for rent even when he's not paying off his parents debt because of the neighbourhood he lives in. He's not going to be able to afford the equipment necessary to keep his identity secret. **

**Plus, unlike Batman he kills people. I have a theory that the only reason Gotham and the government haven't already figured out who Batman is is because they don't want to. They have a guy fighting crime for FREE and he doesn't kill. There saving money by letting a guy run around in a bat costume fight crime for free, instead of paying a police officers to do their jobs. **

**Naruto on the other hand is a vigilante that while fighting crime, kills people. This is gaining him a lot of attention from the government and the police who are actively trying to figure out who Black Hood is. The fact that Naruto has managed to keep his secret from them is a testament to how well he is doing. Batman only figured out his identity because of the blood he left behind when escaping after killing Black Mask. Since then, Batman has been helping keep Naruto's secret from the government, the police and every hero and villain trying to figure out who Black Hood is. **

**Plus, him working with Batman was more out of curiosity as to why Batman of all people extended a hand to him. These last few chapters explain that Batman hopes to help guide Naruto to being more like a hero like him and stop him from killing people. But Naruto doesn't know that an instead agreed to work with Batman in order to find out what was causing Batman enough trouble to require assistance.**

**Dopeenight: Don't worry, I've got a few anti-heroes/villains that while try to convince Naruto to join their side or snap and one or two maybe female that may or may not have certain intimate relations with Naruto.**

**Bladewolf101: I did consider it, but to be honest I decided against it. Don't know why because she is strong and beautiful, but I decided that three women was enough. Each of the three girls chosen will be with Naruto at certain points in his development. Barbara when he begins being a hero and still confused as to what to expect. Koriand'r when he is more confident and sure of himself, a leader. And Kara will represent something else though revealing what she represents would be a bit of a spoiler.**

**Jason Hunter: Batgirl's costume can be any of them, it's up to you. I'm not the type of reader to say, "oh this is the costume you should be thinking of when imagining this hero" because I know from personal experience that by default you think back to whatever costume you like best. So to be honest, it's based on which on you prefer, unless I describe the costume myself. If that's the case, it's because I've made a few changes of my own. **

**It goes the same for any other hero and/or villain. Just choose which iteration of the character you liked best. I'm not overly fussed about it so I like to leave it up to you as the reader to decide which costume you want.**

**Sultan Asil Arslan: I have yes, but I won't be giving it to Naruto, will he wear it at some point briefly? I'm not overly sure. He could do, but I don't know if I want to do that. **

**IPoisonNI: Because I want to have some powers and abilities similar to that of Naruto and not just a few characters here or there. I've actually mentioned four characters so far, including Naruto so see if you can find the other three. You can probably who two of three are pretty easily. But yea, I want to stick to just DC and Naruto powers and that's what I'm going for. It is a good idea though.**

**Yakuza2010: I do actually have something similar planned for the future, just not with Killer Frost but it is a good idea. However, when it happens it'll be a bit more of a traumatic experience for Naruto, if you know what I mean. **

**As for Black Lagoon haven't watched it though I have heard it's pretty good, might watch it after I've finished watching the few series I've got lined up already. But Galaktic Football, now that brings back memories. I used to love that as a kid, probably one of my favourites when growing up.**

**OgFrosty: It's edited, improved grammar a few extra bits of fighting, but no changes in the storyline. I've got it all planned up for three books, this one, the second which will cover season 1 and 2 of YJ and then a series post YJ and I'm working on the fourth now. By working on it, I mean planning out what happens in the book and there isn't much that requires changing in these chapters because the story thread doesn't require it. Though the later chapters towards the end of this book have gone through a few major changes.**

**Not A Flame: There's more than just Naruto here and while most of the characters besides ten later on won't receive any screen time, just mention in passing. There will be characters and there will be powers/concepts and history taken from Naruto. Just because it isn't appearing now doesn't mean it won't. I'm not just going to chuck loads of Narutoverse characters and lore at you when Naruto doesn't even no shit about it. You'd probably point how stupid that decision would be and complain about it. **

**However, it's building up to those reveals, I'm not just going throw them in at the start to satisfy people who believe that I should prove this is a Naruto crossover. That would ruin my story and I'm not going to do that. I have a very clear storyline planned out and if you'd ant patiently wait for those reveals to come then that's your problem not mine. **

**I have over fifteen hundred people viewing my story, one less person doesn't mean much. So please be patient and wait, and if you can't them I'm sorry to hear that.**

**Illumin Heaven: Yes and no, because at the end of the day the core of Naruto's personality is still there but he's less optimistic and more pessimistic. But like I said, the core of Naruto's personality is still there. It's the same person yes, does it have big differences in personality? That's a yes and a no. **

**I'm not going to explain this point further because I've done so plenty of times and it's just getting repetitive, so I'm sorry if I come across as rude, it's not my intention.**

**Hope this clears up any questions you had and thank you again for reading my story and taking the time leave a review, it means a lot to me.**


	9. Chapter VIII - The Court of Owls

**Injustice: The Path to Hell.**

**Book 1: A Journeys Beginning.**

**Chapter VIII – The Court of Owls**

"Normal Speech."

_'Normal Thought.'_

**"Demon Speech."**

**_'Demon Thought.'_**

_Location/Time_

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Friday 17th, April, 23:30._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_East End._

The run down apartment room of one Naruto Uzumaki was silent. Neither of the two inhabitants saying anything, both stood at opposite sides of the room as they stared at one another in awkward silence.

After the beating they had endured, they had both managed to drag themselves to their feet and slowly make their way to his apartment where they nursed their healing bruises slowly after their quick defeat at the hands of the Talon. Now they stood quietly, Naruto moving to sit on the sofa while Barbara leaned against the sink, both still dressed in their respective costumes, but their masks were pulled down.

A few times both Naruto and Barbara went to speak, but no words came to them. They knew what they wanted to say, what they wanted to ask but they always lost their nerve and couldn't put their thoughts into words.

Sighing, Naruto pulled away the makeshift ice pack which consisted of cubes of ice wrapped in a towel and looked at the splotches of blood splattered across the previously white cloth. Luckily, the bleeding had stopped some time ago and all that remained was a dull ache.

Gently placing the ice pack to his nose he hissed as his nose flared up with pain at the contact. "How is it?" Barbara eventually asked, breaking the tense and awkward silence that had permeated the room.

"Sore." Naruto replied, his gaze wondering to where Barbara had her own makeshift ice pack placed against her ribs. "What about you?"

Barbara looked at her ribs and shrugged, wincing slightly at the sudden movement. "Sore." She repeated making a small smile appear on Naruto's lips before he wiped it away, remembering just who was in his room and the secret that his childhood friend had kept from him for years.

Once again silence descended between the two, neither knowing what to say or how to say it. But eventually, like all things, something would have to give.

"So, you're Batgirl?" Naruto asked rhetorically, his tone laced with hints of anger that Barbara picked up on. "What's that like?"

Barbara was quiet for a few moments, her eyes taking note of his tensed shoulders and slightly narrowed eyes, the telltale signs of Naruto being angry. "Probably no different to what it's like for you being Black Hood, besides a few differences." She responded.

"Differences? Like not killing people, I wonder what that must feel like." He replied bitterly. Naruto did not like killing, he hated the very act and himself every time he committed it. But he did it anyway, because he knew that those that were dead couldn't threaten innocents and more specifically, Jim and Barbara. "Bet you feel so good about yourself, especially when those you capture escape from prison a few months later and repeat the same act _all over again._"

Barbara narrowed her eyes, her own anger rising.

"Oh, and that makes killing alright, does it?" Barbara laughed sardonically. "I don't kill because I don't want to be as bad as the criminals I fight against. It was because of your situation that I became Batgirl, do you know that?" By Naruto's silence, he did not know that. "I became Batgirl because I was frustrated at how helpless I was whenever I would find you covered in cuts and bruises from your fights. I became Batgirl because I was sick and tired of how corrupted my city was. But most of all, I became Batgirl because I wanted to protect _you."_

"I didn't ask you to do that." Naruto replied shortly and Barbara flinched slightly. "I didn't ask you to risk your life every night for me, all I've ever done is try to keep you away from the darker side of Gotham and so has Jim because it's a dangerous place. As far as I was aware, you couldn't protect yourself so I did everything I could to keep you away from the truth of how corrupted Gotham is. Just like you became Batgirl for me, I became Black Hood for you."

"And just like you didn't ask me to become Batgirl for you, I didn't ask you to become Black Hood! To become a murder!" She exclaimed.

Naruto laughed. "Yea, you're right. We both did what the other didn't, what a pair we make." He muttered angrily. "But I don't like killing, I hate it. Every night I see those I kill, every scumbag that lies in a hole in the ground because I put them there, haunts me at night."

Barbara remained silent, not sure on how to respond.

"I kept it from you because of what you said about Black Hood when he first started making his appearance. Perhaps I would have told you if you hadn't been so against him, but I guess we'll never know." He stated angrily, both at himself, Barbara and the situation they were in.

"Yea, I guess we'll never know." Barbara replied quietly, still trying to swallow what he had told her. She knew Naruto was being torn up by his actions, she could see it in his face. He wasn't lying, he hated killing and despite the situation she was in, she felt relief fill her. But even then, she could see the look in his glassy eyes, he felt no sympathy for those he killed, yet he was haunted by then anyway.

"This is who I am now, Barbara." He said, his eyes looking down at the coffee table. "It's who I always have been, I've constantly being hiding behind a mask, being Black Hood gave me a reason to stop hiding."

She couldn't help but think back to the words Bruce told her when she first started learning how to fight crime.

"The common misconception is that killing changes people. In my experience, it doesn't change them, it only reveals who they really are."

While she knew that killing was wrong, something both Batman and her uncle/father, Jim had taught her. But if Batman's words were true, it made her feel easier to know that despite having killed people, Naruto was still a good guy deep down, he was just misguided. It gave her hope that she could change him and put him in the right path.

"When I was with you," he looked up to her with emotion that she either couldn't understand or was a afraid of understanding in his eyes. "I never had to hide. When I was with you, that was the only time things could be _real._ When things were real, I never had to hide with you."

Barbara had so many questions, so many things she wanted to ask, but she didn't know where to begin. Didn't know what to say or how to say it and like she always did when in these situation, remained quiet.

Hearing a beeping coming from her mask, Barbara pulled it up over her head and accepted the incoming call. "Robin, what'd you need?" To Naruto, there was no discernible words beside hushed gibberish from whoever Barbara was talking to. "What?! What do you mean he was taken?!"

_'Who was taken?'_ Naruto asked internally, already knowing that Barbara probably wouldn't answer the question even if he asked. _'Just another secret.' _He was honestly starting to question how well he knew his friend and if there was more that she was keeping secret that he didn't know.

"I…yea I'll be there as quickly as I can." She responded and then looked at Naruto. "I'll bring some backup as well." Again, more gibberish. "Don't worry, I trust him. Yea, we'll be there as quickly as possible."

Cutting off the call, Naruto waited patiently as Barbara collected herself.

"That was Robin." She said and Naruto remained silent in order to let her finish. "Batman has disappeared." Now, Naruto had expected a lot of things when Barbara finished on that call, to learn that Batman had disappeared was not one of them. After all, Batman had handily defeated him, no matter how hard Naruto had tried, he hadn't even being capable of breaking through his guard.

The first punch he landed was more luck than actual skill. An unorthodox and unpredictable action that had managed to distract Batman enough for Naruto to land one blow that had done nothing. Not that Naruto had expected anything less, Batman took on guys like Killer Croc and other superpower individuals, he hadn't really expected to hurt him.

Even then, by the way in which Barbara was openly worried, Batman disappearing was not something he did. Or at least not in this particular fashion. So because of the hero disappearing, taken if the worry in Batgirl!s voice was anything to go by it meant that Batman had come face to face with someone extremely powerful and dangerous that had been able to beat him. He was putting his money on the Talon or whoever that guy really was.

He had taken on both him and Barbara with ease, playing with them in order to test Naruto and once he was done, had broken them easily. As much as the thought terrified him, that the Talon could take on Batman certainly wasn't something Naruto was going to pretend wasn't a possibility.

Especially not after tonight's showing.

And so, despite still being sore, both Naruto and Barbara pulled up their masks and headed out, Barbara herself calling the Batwing to take both of them to Batman's last known location.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Friday 17th, April, 23:45._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_Gotham Highway._

When Batgirl had said she was brining backup, Robin had at first being confused. Sure Batman going missing was a cause for worry, but it shouldn't be enough to require backup. The fact that she even trusted this person was also something that had confused him. From what he was aware, the only people in Gotham that Batgirl actually trusted both as Barbara Gordon and Batgirl was a very small number.

And only two of those individuals were aware of Barbara being Batgirl.

That was him and Bruce.

When he had arrived at the scene of Bruce's last known location upon Gotham Highway from Alfred, he had called Barbara straight away. The sight that greeted him was definitely cause for worry, Bruce's black Lamborghini had been a wreck, there were even flames still burning.

Luckily, they were the first on the scene, it would certainly make things more difficult to investigate of they had to work around police and the fire department. Not that they didn't always do so, it was just this was Bruce Wayne, while he was a big name that would certainly warrant the attention of the police considering who he was, it certainly would warrant the attention of Robin and Batgirl combined.

So, after calling Batgirl as soon as he arrived, Robin went about investigating what he could see.

The Lamborghini was a mess, repairable? Yes, but it would be costly, not that it would be a problem for Bruce. Still, from the tyre tracks and considering how the flames were still burning, it had happened recently, probably within the last hour or so. That meant Bruce had been attacked on his way back from the charity ball he had been attending.

So that beggared the question as to why and by who?

This hadn't been attack against Batman, this had been an attack against Bruce Wayne. Either one of Gotham's many crime lords and criminal organisations had used the chaos caused by them and the police to take Bruce Wayne for ransom. Or, this could be related to the Fearless Toxin and the theory that someone or organisation was controlling thing from the shadows was behind this.

A theory that was becoming more and more likely with each passing day.

Hearing the Batwing approach, the wind picking up as it slowly lowered onto the highway causing Robin to raise on hand in front of his face.

As the hatch opened out stepped two figures, one being Batgirl as he had expected, it was the second figure that both shocked and annoyed Robin. He had honestly not expected the 'backup' to be the vigilante that had been making waves in Gotham.

"Really?" He questioned incredulously as Batgirl and Black Hood walked towards him. "Him? Of all people, him! Since when have you started to trust him?"

"Not now, Robin." Batgirl answered, her voice tired as she came to a stop in front of the young hero, Black Hood also coming to a stop beside her, his eyes looking over the wreckage with curiosity.

"I didn't know Batman was the type to drive around in a Lamborghini." He said, mirth clearly heard in his tone despite the serious situation which earned a glare from Robin and an exasperated look from Batgirl. "So I'm guessing this isn't about Batman and more to do with who's under the mask?"

The silence he got in return was all the answer he needed and Black Hood snorted in amusement.

"What a joke." He shook his head in wonder.

Robin took exception to this. "If it's such a joke to you, then why are you here." Despite his voice never raising in volume, his tone was harsh and Black Hood just ignored him. "Seriously, this guy!" Robin once again rounded on Batgirl who just sighed.

"Can we just leave it for now and focus on the task at hand?" She asked and Black Hood shrugged, while Robin took a few moments before releasing a deep breath to calm himself. The night had been long and tiring with each lead he followed being a dead end, this whole mess was just the icing on the mess they called a cake. "What have you figured out so far?"

"So far, I've figured out that he was attacked on his way back from the charity ball. Two SUVs by the shape of the tyre tracks. Came up beside him and drove him off the road, stopped, dragged his unconscious body out and drove off." Robin listed off quickly and in short order. "Make of that what you will."

Batgirl nodded her head, her mind coming to the same conclusions as Robin had earlier.

"So how did you know he had gone missing?" Black Hood asked making both heroes turn to look at him. "I mean, there's a lot of car crashes that happen in Gotham for one reason or another, so how did you know it was him and get here so quickly? You must have some sort of way to track him to know that he had gone missing so quickly. So why don't you use that." He pointed out.

"Oh, geez, why didn't I think of that earlier." Robin replied sarcastically making Black Hood glare at the younger boy, Batgirl once again asking herself mentally as to why she thought it would be a good idea to bring Naruto along when she knew that Robin disliked him entirely.

_'Oh I know, you wanted to prove yourself to him.'_ She thought in annoyance at how she had wanted desperately to prove that he could trust her. She had kept this secret of who she really was for so long that now that it was out, Barbara wanted to prove to Naruto that he could still trust her despite this secret. And as a result, had probably made this more difficult due to forgetting just how much Robin disliked Black Hood, he having no connection to Naruto in any way. Besides being antagonistic too each other on practically every time they met.

Whereas Batman wanted to help Black Hood and felt some measure of kinship with Naruto due of them both having lost their children at a young age, Robin didn't. He didn't know Naruto like Barbara or Batman, the latter due to his detailed search on his background.

And now, with Batman gone it would be up to her to keep the peace between both Naruto and Robin. _'Oh what joy.' _She sarcastically thought, then she felt the beeping on her wrist and looked down to see that she had a message, by the fact that Robin had stopped arguing with Naruto, he had no doubt received one as well.

Pulling up her holographic computer, Barbara read the message carefully.

_Return to the Cave._

It was straight to the point and an order, which meant it was from Batman despite it being from an anonymous source. Sparing a look to Robin, the two shared a look that said more than words ever could.

"You get to explain it to Batman." Was all Robin said before hopping onto his motorcycle, smaller and more compact to fit with his size and greatly upgraded to suit all of Robin's needs when it came to life as a crime fighter.

Batgirl then turned to Black Hood. "Ready to go see Batman?" She asked and despite a moment of hesitation, he eventually released a sigh.

"Nope, but what the hell, I've got nothing better to do." And so, Naruto followed Barbara into the Batwing once more.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Saturday 18th, April, 00:05._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_Location Unknown._

Naruto was safe to say, in awe of the so called 'Batcave.' People had joked about it on the internet saying that when Batman wasn't fighting crime he was in his Batcave. To see it in person was, well intimidating.

There was a great deal of technology here, as well as what could only be momentous of past victories against previous supervillains. An odd thing to see considering he hadn't expected Batman to be the type of person to keep momentous, but from what he was seeing some these were old. The vast majority belonging to Batmans first outings as Batman and his nightly encounters with supervillains.

_'I guess even Batman's the type to keep momentous of past victories. Who'd have thought?'_ He thought, looking over the collection in minor interest as he followed Barbara and Robin to where Batman sat at a large computer. And when he said large, he meant large. There was one big monitor, easily the width of Naruto's entire bedroom wall and was surrounded by a dozen other smaller monitors. _'Jesus, imagine what I could do with this kind of tech at my disposal.'_

It certainly would have made his life easier. Much easier.

"You're alright." Barbara said in relief as the the group of three came to a stop as Batman turned around to face them. There was a brief moment where he studied Naruto's presence curiously before dismissing it entirely. "What happened?"

"I was taken." Batman responded and Naruto snorted, gaining a glare from Robin in return, though Batman continued as if he hadn't heard it. "I was knocked unconscious by the crash and when I awoke, I was in some type of atrium, surrounded by individuals clad in Owl masks. They called themselves the Court of Owls."

That got a reaction from both Naruto and Barbara, something Robin and Batman took note of.

"You know of them?" Robin asked and Barbara nodded her head.

Naruto meanwhile crossed his arms over his chest. "Yea, my mum used to tell us stories about the Court, just thought they were children's tale. You know, kind of like Santa Clause and stuff like that, a fairytale."

"Wait, _us?" _Robin stressed, looking between Naruto and Barbara in confusion. "Hold up, before we go any further I want to know what the deal is between you two. It's being bugging me ever since you told me you trusted him." The last part was directed at Barbara.

"I believe." Batman began before any arguments or anything else could happen. "That it would be best to at least, reveal some secrets in order to build some measure of trust. The Court are real and extremely dangerous, I believe it would be best if we at least; cleared some of the air between us."

Batman reached up and pulled his mask down much to the shock of all present.

"Seriously!" Robin exclaimed, looking at his mentor in shock before looking back to Barbara and Black Hood, the former having also pulled down her mask after getting over her shock. "Why the hell are you trusting this guy?"

Yet, Robin received no answer.

"No fucking way, Bruce Wayne?" Naruto questioned, not quite believing what he was seeing. "You're Batman?"

"When I was eight years old, my parents were killed in an alley." Bruce said, his voice monotone as he recounted the tale of how he became Batman, only the basics, there was far too much minor details that would take too long to explain at the current period of time. "If you have more questions, they can be dealt with at a later date." Here Batman turned to Robin. "This is my ward, Richard Grayson and as you already know, Barbara is Batgirl."

Naruto remained silent, still trying to digest the information Batman, or Bruce Wayne had delivered to him. All the while Barbara watched on, sparing a glance to the calm Bruce and the angry Richard.

"O-okay, I think, I think I've got everything." Naruto muttered, more as a way to convince himself than anything else. "So, Bruce Wayne is Batman, Richard Grayson is Robin and my childhood friend is Batgirl. That about sums it up."

"Right, that just leaves the question of who you are." Robin replied irritably, more so at his mentor for having revealed his identity. "Though I'm guessing you two already know." Bruce and Barbara said nothing in response.

Naruto meanwhile pulled back his hood.

"That at least clears up the question as to why you trust him." Robin murmured to Barbara who decided that it was best to move this conversation along. He having recognising her childhood friend who Barbara was obsessed with protecting.

"The Court of Owls? I remember the stories about them and now they're real?" She questioned in thought gaining the attention of the group. "Earlier today, we were attacked by a guy, he called himself the Talon. And he," she rubbed her sore ribs. "He beat us both easily."

Bruce nodded his head in thought.

"When I was taken to the Court, they offered me a place amongst them." He said. "They didn't reveal their exact plan, but they talked about how the city of Gotham was failing. I believe they plan to take over the city, correct the mistakes and right the wrongs."

"With the Fearless Toxin?" Naruto asked dubiously, still not understanding how Fearless Toxin could help with this matter.

"If the Talon is working for the Court of Owls then they are no doubt connected to the Fearless Toxin." Barbara added. "Which would mean they plan to use it as some sort of weapon or something along those lines. A way to use the common people to overthrow the leaders of Gotham and take control in the chaos."

"That's if the Talon is connected to the Court of Owls." Dick pointed out and Barbara nodded her head in agreement.

"Describe the Talon." Batman ordered and Naruto and Barbara shared a look.

"Tall, well built." Naruto started off. "Wore combat equipment with gold highlights, clawed gloves and a Owl Mask. Could just be a copycat, using the stories of the Court of Owls as a basis for his getup." Naruto offered.

It was a plausible scenario, if not a little slim especially with the reveal that the Court of Owls was a very real thing. Still, they all knew that in their line of work, they couldn't rule out that possibility.

"After they made the offer, I was knocked unconscious and brought back to the crash site." Bruce spoke up, gaining their attention once more. "I quickly made my own investigation following a tracking beacon I had put in place. It led me straight to a museum where I encountered the same individual you described."

Naruto and Barbara shared a look.

"He was skilled, very skilled." That alone spoke words, especially seen as though it came from Batman himself. "But he was not alone, there was a group of similarly dressed individuals though different, skinnier and more erratic in their movements."

"You're saying there's more?" Naruto asked, temporarily stalled at the reveal as where the others. The idea that there was one very skilled individual that had earned such a compliment from Batman himself was worrying, the very idea that there was more, was terrifying.

"Perhaps, but they were different." Batman answered calmly. "Less skilled, more erratic and rigid in their movements and if I'm correct, they may be undead."

This sent a ripple of shock between the three young heroes, each of them unsure of whether to believe this or not. But while Barbara and Robin where quick to at least see this as a possible scenario, Naruto was still unable to do so.

"Hold up, undead?" He asked incredulously, looking at Barbara, Dick and Bruce in shock at how easily they accepted this. "You seriously expect me to believe that were fighting zombies of all things? You've got to be joking." But as he looked at he looked at the serious faces of the three experienced heroes, he released that they weren't. "You're being serious?"

"The world is bigger than you might believe." Bruce responded.

"Naruto." Barbara said and he turned to look at her. "I know it's hard to believe, trust me. I've seen a lot of things that I thought impossible, undead isn't really that surprising." Naruto just laughed sardonically.

"You're all fucking crazy. There's no such thing as undead ninjas." He replied irritably. "It doesn't exist, this is the real world, not some fantasy film or tv show. It's real life, undead ninjas don't exist."

"Just like superpowered aliens don't exist, oh wait…" Robin responded sarcastically getting glares from both Naruto and Barbara in response.

"I've had it with you, you little shit." Naruto snarled and Barbara quickly stepped in between him and Dick, one hand pressed against his chest as she applied some force to get him to stop walking towards Dick.

"Naruto, calm down." She implored and Naruto looked between her and the other two before with a scoff, spun on his heel and stormed away. Barbara watched him go before turning to Bruce, completely ignoring Dick.

Giving a nod of his head, Bruce watched Barbara follow after Naruto and then turned to give Robin a disapproving look. The young boy in question just shrugged his shoulders, it wasn't his problem that her friend couldn't accept that there were things in this world more dangerous than one would first believe.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

"What is your problem?" Barbara asked, turning to Naruto as they came to a stop a bit further away from, Bruce and Dick.

She knew that Dick had a habit of getting under people's skin, it was a good tactic for him to gain an advantage over a stronger opponent. An angry opponent would be prone to make mistakes, a mistakes are costly in a fight which allowed him to win. The problem was that Dick didn't see Naruto as an ally and was still trying his best to get underneath Naruto's skin, and it was working.

Despite knowing that, she was shocked at how easily Naruto was rising to Dick's words. After all, no matter how many guys insulted Naruto before, he never responded.

"My problem?" Naruto responded, waving one hand in Bruce and Dick's general direction. "I'm not the one that accepting the idea that the Court of Owls has zombie ninjas like it's a common occurrence."

Barbara would give him that, even she had had seen and heard of a lot of things, but undead were not amongst them. "Even so, Dick has a point." She said and Naruto scoffed. "He does! We live in a world with superpowered aliens like Superman, is it really that hard to believe?"

"Yes, yes it is." Naruto replied firmly, his arms crossing over his chest. "A superpowered alien is one thing, but above all else, he's _alive._ He bleeds, he gets hurt and that means he can be killed. There's a very clear line between alive and dead. _This…_blurs those lines."

And despite not saying it, Barbara could tell he was scared. She was as well, no matter how many times she had gone out and fought criminals, the fear never dissipated. It always there, she had just learned to ignore it. Naruto was still new to this life and so didn't have as much experience in these matters.

"I know, believe me, I know." Barbara repeated softly. "I'm just as scared as you at the idea, hell I've been scared for a long time, Naruto. But you need to trust me when I say, there are things out there worse than this."

Naruto was silent before he gave a small, sardonic smile. "Trust you?" He muttered quietly, his head down cast. "Trust, that's a little hard to come by right now. You never know who might be keeping secrets from you."

Barbara flinched at his words, her eyes lowering to the ground. "I'm not the only one that's kept secrets." She said, her voice equally as accusatory as his was and Naruto narrowed his eyes at her.

"I kept my secret as Black Hood for two months, you kept your secret for two years. Two years!" He exclaimed angrily. "I would have told you, every time you were with me all I wanted to do was tell you who I was and what I was really doing. But I didn't want to lose you, I didn't want you to hate me for what I did. As far as I was concerned, that's exactly hat you would have done and I couldn't bare the thought of losing you too."

Barbara remained silent over the course of his tirade, her eyes slowly widening further and further as he spoke more. She could see the tears in his eyes and how angry he was, but most all, how upset he was.

He felt betrayed, betrayed that his best friend, she had kept such a big secret from him for two years. Hadn't trusted him enough, hadn't believed in him.

But above all else, he was afraid of losing her. The emotion that had seeped into his voice as he spoke about losing her spoke of more than just friendship and despite the seriousness of the situation, Barbara felt her heart beat faster.

"I-I." She stuttered, unsure of how to respond to him in a way that would help resolve the situation.

"This." He indicated not only at himself and her, but also at her mentor and partner a little ways away. "Isn't going to work. The kid, Robin doesn't trust me and I don't like him. I may respect Batman, but I don't like his code and right now, I'm not sure what to believe any more."

Before she could say anything, Naruto walked away, leaving Barbara there in stunned silence. Her eyes watched him as he spoke to Bruce privately, she couldn't hear what they were saying, but she didn't have to. He was doing going just like he said, they were too different. They had different ideals and that was tearing them apart and it hurt, hurt so much that she felt dizzy.

Barbara didn't even known how long she stood there, her eyes rooted to the spot where Batman and Naruto had once stood. She didn't know when they had left, all she knew was that she couldn't believe how quickly things had gone south.

Naruto was her friend, her greatest friend.

They had been together since they were kids and they had grown up together. He had always been there for her, just like she had been for him and it hurt so much to imagine him leaving her.

She didn't know when, but he had stopped being just her friend, when she had stopped being content with just their current relationship. She didn't know when she started desiring more from their relationship, when she started looking at other couples and imagining that it was her and Naruto doing those things.

All she knew, was that maybe like friends had a habit of doing, they had grown too different.

And as Barbara sat on the ground, she questioned if things could return to normal.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Saturday 18th, April, 03:00._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_East End._

Naruto hadn't been able to sleep ever since he had returned to his apartment. He had tried, as soon as he got home he had tried to go to sleep, but he couldn't. It had been a frustrating hour he spent laying in bed trying to fall asleep only for him to finally give up and more to the main living area of his apartment.

It was, like always a mess.

Even before becoming Black Hood it had been a mess. And when he became Black Hood, he spent most of his time training or out on the streets to actually spend time to clean his apartment. So in actual fact, it became an even bigger mess since quitting school and becoming Black Hood.

When Batman – or Bruce Wayne as he had come to know him to really be – had hired some of the best he could to fix the apartment. It had looked really good, better than when He had first bought it, but like always, it became a mess once again.

Just like his life.

He didn't know how or when things had become so strained between him and Barbara. No, that's incorrect as he actually did. It was the moment he became Black Hood. The difference in their ideals slowly drove a wedge between them and while the short break he had taken from his vigilantism had helped bring them close together, it had not closed the gap fully.

Now that he knew the truth and so did she, he didn't really know what to think.

He loved Barbara, that much he was sure of, always had been. And that's why it hurt so much. It hurt that Barbara hadn't trusted him enough to tell him the truth and now that he did know, it only made things worse.

Sighing, Naruto leaned back into his sofa and closed his eyes, he was tired but sleep continued to elude him.

"I imagine the knowledge of who Barbara is must be hurtful." Jumping to his feet, Naruto spun around to see the Talon stood in the doorway to his bedroom. "Then again, I wouldn't really know how that feels so I can't really say if I'm right or not."

"What'd you want?" Naruto snarled, his fists clenched as his mind replayed their previous meeting. It was painful not only due to the beating he received, but also because the a Talon had been the one that caused this whole mess with Barbara.

The Talon stepped forwards and Naruto moved backwards to keep the distance between them both. "I'm not here to fight, I already tested you once and you passed, albeit barely. But considering my options are limited, you're certainly better than most candidates."

"Candidates for what?" Naruto demanded, never once lowering his guard for even a second.

"To become a Talon, like me." Naruto's eyes widened in shock and the Talon chuckled. "Though, I imagine you won't be too keen on the idea, especially when it comes to working for the Court. Nor am I really, I don't like the Court. We're very similar you and I, did you know that?"

As he was speaking, the Talon moved around the apartment, taking in every detail. Naruto himself continued to keep his eyes firmly locked on the Talon's figure, just waiting for any hint of hostility.

"And how are we similar?"

The Talon looked at Naruto and while he couldn't see it, the blonde could just tell that he was smirking beneath that mask of his. "We're both orphans, exposed to the true reality of the Gotham, at a young age." He then turned away. "And eventually when presented with the chance to change this city, took it with both hands. Yours was Black Mask and your hatred for the man as well as your desire to protect Barbara Gordon and her father."

"And yours?" While he didn't fully drop his guard, Naruto did lower his arms slightly to show that he was at least listening.

"The previous Talon before myself, found me, raised me, taught me and eventually handed me the duty of carrying out the Courts orders. While the Court are the visionary, it is we Talons that put those dreams into action." The Talon clenched one fist tightly, the material of his glove groaning under the pressure.

"In return, you get resurrected as undead servants." Naruto sarcastically replied and the Talon looked at him for a few moments before chuckling.

Shaking his head, the Talon turned to fully face Naruto. "Yes, I do not like it. That's why, I plan to change that and I need your help."

"My help?" Naruto dubiously asked.

"You see, the Court are made up entirely of the rich and wealthy of Gotham. They believe it's their right to rule Gotham and they plan to do just that. Scarecrow? He was just a means to an end to create the Fearless Toxin, which in turn is just a tool for them to use."

"Just like you." Naruto bluntly pointed out and while the Talon paused, he continued on soon after as if he hadn't been interrupted.

"The Fearless Toxin while create anarchy and chaos, they will use this to put their agents and themselves into positions of power and when everything subsides, they will rule Gotham. The scum of Gotham will have killed each other and those that do survive will be hunted down by me and the Undead Talon.**" He explained and Naruto listened.**

**"This doesn't explain why you want my help." Naruto said. "Why not go to Batman? I'm sure he would be able to help you better than me." Despite his dislike of Batman's moral code, Naruto begrudgingly respected and even admired him for not only his insane combat skills, but also his bravery. **

**The Talon shook his head. "No, Batman would only get in the way. You know as well as I do that Gotham cannot change if Batman continues to act the way he does. No, it needs to a real change, the Court will provide that, but they are no better than the criminals they are trying to get rid of."**

**"No, I will not let them." The Talon said firmly. "I'm an orphan, I lost my parents to robbers and had to take care of myself until the Talon found me. I want to change this city for the better, not for the worse and that's exactly what the Court will do."**

**"So you plan to betray them?" Naruto questioned and the Talon nodded his head.**

**"At one point in time I believed in them entirely and would have never thought of betraying them. It was when I learned of the fate that befalls all Talons that I realised how misguided I was, the Court as it is cannot be allowed to rule Gotham. There plan will continue and I will follow, but once all is said and done, the Court will be expunged of its corruption just like Gotham."**

**Naruto nodded his head, understanding the Talons reasoning, but there was still one question in his mind. "And the innocents? What about them? Many of them will die if the Fearless Toxin is released."**

**"Sacrifices have to be made." The Talon said sadly and Naruto sucked in a deep breath. "I understand it will be hard, I dislike it just as much as you. But whenever has anything worth it being without sacrifice."**

**There was silence once more and the Talon took in Naruto's tensed figure, it was then he quickly realised the true reason Naruto was so unwilling. He had studied Naruto a great deal, watched him play at being both Black Hood and Naruto Uzumaki. And he knew exactly the true motivation behind his actions.**

**Saving Gotham city was never his true aim, if anything, Naruto hated this city for all it took from him. It took his father and then his mother and then his childhood. **

**No, saving Gotham city was simply a byproduct of his actions. His main aim and probably always will be, was to save those close to him. And right now, those two people were Barbara Gordon and Jim Gordon.**

**Two people who would be in the centre of the chaos caused by the Court.**

**"You have my word, Naruto Uzumaki." The Talon said, using the exact words he knew would at least convince Naruto of his sincerity. "I will ensure that no harm befalls Jim and Barbara Gordon."**

**Naruto looked at the bowing figure of the Talon and remained silent, only moving to sit down. His mind trying to go over all the information that had been revealed and he found himself overwhelmed. Not only was he trying to deal with then bombshell of who Barbara was, but also there deteriorating relation, who Batman and Robin were and now this. **

**_'I really need a drink.'_ He bemoaned internally, only to look up when he saw the Talon had placed something upon his table.**

**Resting there innocently on the table were a pair of black gloves with metal claws at the end, he knew exactly what they were. They were the same gloves the Talon was currently wearing. **

**"I'm not accepting those." Naruto said making the Talon chuckle.**

**"I had a feeling you would say that, you did after all refuse the suit Batman gave you." The blonde gave no outward reaction to the reveal that the Talon had been watching him, he was already aware that he had. "These aren't a gift from me based on ideals. This is one orphan giving another a helping hand."**

**Naruto looked back at the gloves and noticed a patch of white peaking out from underneath them. Reaching forward, Naruto pulled it out revealing it to be a slip of paper with what looked to be an address on the back. **

**"What's…this?" He asked, turning to where the Talon had previously being stood only to find it empty. "Seriously? How the fuck did he do that?" **

**Ignoring that for a moment, he looked at the address and then turned it over. **

**Should you decide to accept my offer, you'll know where to find me.**

**Sighing, Naruto leaned back once more and this time when he closed his eyes, despite everything that had been revealed to him, he finally managed to fall asleep.**

****A/N:** **No action in this chapter more focused on the aftermath of the previous chapter and the revelations in that. Next chapter should have more action in it, and should be the end of the Court of Owls arc. Hopefully, fingers crossed. ****

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the character interactions as well as the revelations about the Court of Owls, the Undead Talons and Naruto's reaction to them. It was a difficult chapter to write especially because dialogue isn't my forte, so please let me know what you thought in review it would be greatly appreciated. **

**Now, onto the questions.**

**Guest: Nah, I already have plans for Raven. Plus I don't want to make this a mass harem , only a small one allowing me to flesh out the characters and really make the relationship meaningful and work.**

**Ginocide02: Yea, Barbara is the human anchor whereas Starfire and Supergirl represent other parts of Naruto life and development as a character. **

**anoyak111: Naruto's going to have an individual relationship with them one after the other and then, I will try and bring them together all together as realistically as possible. Don't know how that will go just yet, still writing notes, but I've already got the story ideas for how Naruto meets each of them and the relationship arcs for Naruto, Barbara and Koriand'r fully planned out. Just working on Kara now.**

**Ficeater96: Very true and while we know that, don't forget Naruto is still very young and impressionable, he's only sixteen and while he is at that stage where he starts to develop on his own, he is still impressionable. Will Naruto become full good guy, I do have plans to make that happen but believe me, it will not be to make him fit in with the Young Justice cast. It's part of an overarching story arc which will result in a major part of Naruto's character development. But anyway, yes Naruto shouldn't agree, but he can see where batman is coming from and it will make him change the way he confronts his enemies. It doesn't mean he will stop killing them because he won't, it just that he will change little things.**

**Shin: Hope you liked the ending to this chapter then as I agree, the Talon is cool and so are his gloves. Also if you're on about Batman vs Robin then that is the main inspiration for this arc with some differences. **

**tamagat: Yes, I understand the frustration but don't forget Naruto doesn't have the training Barbara, Batman Robin or the Talon have. But that will begin to change very soon, so just hold on.**

**emiyaryo: I don't know when I'll be updating that story just yet. Right now I've got loads of inspiration to write this fic and the four others on the poll, but that could change.**

**Yohnos: Definitely considered it and still might include it but not sure just yet. It all depends if I can fit into the wider narrative and make it make sense with world I'm building. If not in this world, I might do a few spin-off stories which shows Naruto interacting with other characters from the Narutoverse and from the wider DC comics. **

**PenPanther: Nope, still going through with it though it will probably happen during the time skip between Young Justice Season 1 and 2. But I'm still unsure on the teacher, I considering Dr. Fate more as a guide and not a full-fledged teacher, more as teacher that gives him books and a little guidance but makes Naruto do most of the learning and teaching himself. Though he will have some guidance from Zatanna as well so by all means share your idea it's greatly appreciated.**

**Servant Ambrosius: Definitely something I will consider as people have already told me to have Naurto create a style similar to EMIYA, but I'm still unsure just yet.**

**jossblue13: Yea, not going to go over the whole this isn't Naruto because like you said, I've explained plenty of times my reasoning. You not agreeing is your opinion and imperfectly okay with that and the fact your not raving and ranting is certainly nice to see. As for the Naruto crossover aspect, there will be more characters than just the four I've mentioned already, they're be introduced much later on and I'll even be including some lore from the Narutoverse as well. **

**Yakuza2010: Those are very good ideas and thank you for that, I've been trying to get the Black Hood supporters more involved in this book and I've been struggling a bit on how to do that. Turns out the option I could have gone for was very obvious and simple, guess I'm overthinking things too much. So thank you for that. As for the story, won't do it just yet because I'm trying to focus on this story and my others, but it's definitely something I will consider in the future.**

**Sultan Asil Arslan: Now that is a cool name, the Beast of Gaia because, lets be honest despite how confusing the Nasuverse can be there's no denying how dangerous that universe is. But yes, Naruto will get something similar to that, just using the abilities already prevalent in the DC universe with a few of my twists here and there.**

**Anyway, hope that clears up any questions and if not please let me know in a review and I will answer as best as I can without spoiling any future chapters for you too much.**


	10. Chapter IX - Assault on the Court

**Injustice: The Path to Hell:**

**Chapter IX: Assault on the Court**

"Normal Speech."

_'Normal Thought.'_

**"Demon Speech."**

**_'Demon Thought.'_**

_Location/Time_

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Saturday 18th, April, 13:00._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_East End._

After having fallen asleep once the Talon had disappeared, Naruto had woken up about five hours later with a painful crick in his neck. He spent the next two hours thinking over everything that had happened the previous day as well as his conversation with the Talon earlier this morning.

And that was one hell of an emotional rollercoaster.

Naruto had felt a mixture of emotions: sadness, hurt, betrayal and above all else; anger.

Anger at the Talon.

Anger at Batman and Robin.

Anger at Barbara.

And above all else, anger at himself.

He didn't really know what to do or how to deal with this and so had gone out. Getting dressed in his Black Hood uniform and made his way out onto the streets of Gotham. He stopped a few small time drugs dealers and nothing else and so had returned home after an hour of venting his anger, it lessened but it was still there. However, his anger was still shimmering beneath the surface.

That's when he saw the gloves still there on his coffee table. Having ignored their existence all morning, it brought back memories of what the Talon had said and what he planned to do.

In a way, Naruto could understand the Talons point of view and even agreed with parts of it. But at the same time, he didn't like the idea of innocent people getting killed. Sure, the Talon had been correct that saving Gotham was only a by-product of his quest to save Jim and Barbara, the latter apparently not having needed his protection at all. Even so, he didn't want innocent people to die and children to be made orphans like he had.

And that's what left Naruto torn.

If the Talon was right and he could save Gotham, would there be a way to do it without killing people.

The chances of that were slim and Naruto knew it, still Naruto had tried to think of ways to save the innocents while letting the criminals and the corrupted kill each other in the chaos caused by the Courts plans.

Then that beggared the question as to what would happen next?

Even if the Courts plans worked and the Talon betrayed them, how would he be able to take control. The Court had the undead Talons under their control, so unless the Talon had a way to take control of them then they would have to find a way to kill what was already dead. Then there was the problem of all the Courts agents, it was no stretch of the imagination to think that the Court had many agents scattered throughout the city just waiting for the right moment.

What happened if the Talon couldn't ensure their loyalty? Would they rebel and cause more chaos? Or would they go into hiding biding their time to strike at just the right moment to ruin it all?

And this all depended on if the Talon was being truthful about his plans.

Who's to say that the Talon wasn't just trying to manipulate Naruto and use him for his own agenda and plans?

All these question and what ifs had driven Naruto slowly crazy as he sat in his apartment to the point he went out once more. Not to fight crime this time, but to instead give out his new gloves some practise. He couldn't exactly use them in a fight if he didn't know how they worked.

Again, Naruto had questioned if the Talon was telling the truth about his history as an orphan. But either way, unlike with Batman there was no matter of differing ideals that stopped Naruto from using these gifts as his own. He and the Talon – if he was being truthful – had similar ideals and Naruto was going to use these to help him carrying out his own plans.

Whether the Talon could be trusted or not was unknown, but Naruto would do his best to ensure that no innocent person would die when the Court made their move. And to do that, he needed to get some practise in.

It was pretty easy to be honest, they simply allowed him to use open palmed strikes in order to cut opponents. Not to mention there were interwoven plates on the back that would be perfect in adding that little extra power behind each punch. As well as blocking knife strikes, certainly better than his current gear.

The biggest use he had found in them was something he discovered purely by accident and it was how Naruto found himself in his current position suspended in the air with the fingers on both hands digging into the wall. The metal claws in the gloves having carved deep groves into the wall that slowed his descent till it came to a halt altogether.

It had been purely accidental; Naruto had just been practising.

A mix of training his stamina as well as his parkour skills in order to allow him to last longer in a chase while simultaneously improving his ability to jump from one roof to the next. And he needed it, if his fight against Robin a few weeks ago had taught him anything, it was that he lacked the ability to keep up with Barbara, Robin and Batman in terms of speed as well as skill and in Batman's case, strength as well.

He had been doing alright as well, only messing up a few landings, but nothing a quick roll couldn't solve.

Then he had just misjudged how big the gap was.

It wasn't an impossible jump; Naruto had covered bigger distances before. The only difference this time being that he hadn't put as much force as necessary into clearing the distance and so, as he flew through the air and gravity took hold, slowly bringing him back to the ground, Naruto realised he wasn't going to make it.

As a result, he reached out to see if he could grip hold of the edge.

He hadn't, his hands instead missing by mere inches and so, began to plummet to the ground below.

However, the claws in his glove had dug into the wall, tearing up small groves as his descent slowed down to a halt. Remaining there in mid-air, Naruto released a breath before laughing.

_'Let's not do that again.'_ He thought, but despite the fear that had clutched him, Naruto couldn't wipe the big smile still on his face. The fall while terrifying had been exhilarating.

Moving a little, Naruto braced his feet against the wall and wiggled his left hand around, eventually pulling it free before stabbing it into the wall a bit further above him. And as he slowly started to climb his way up the side of the building, Naruto couldn't help but marvel at just how sharp these claws were.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Monday 20th April, 21:00._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_East End._

Landing in a crouch, Naruto rose to his full height and looked around the rooftop warily. With his arms down by his side, but his body loose, he was ready to move at even the slightest sign that something was wrong.

Yet he had barely been on the ground for a second, his eyes not even having took in the area in front of him fully before a number of throwing stars were thrown at him from his right. Reacting quickly, Naruto simultaneously spun round, his head leaning to one side as the shuriken passed through the area his head had once being. At the same time, his back foot had shifted, rising up onto the ball of his feet and pushed off.

In a matter seconds he had closed the gap between him and the figure in the shadow and swung round with his metal claws on his glove flashing dangerously.

Just as it came within inches of cutting down the shadowed figure, Naruto halted allowing the claws to rest within a hairs breadth of slicing the man's throat. And the two remained their silently and still, Naruto staring into the shadows that shrouded the man from sight, while the same man remained entirely still.

Eventually, the shadowed figure moved, giving Naruto a short clap of congratulation. "Well done." Naruto pulled back his right arm and the figure, revealed to be the Talon stepped out of the shadow and into view. "Well done indeed, you've certainly improved greatly over the past two days."

"Whatever." Naruto shrugged his shoulder. "I only agreed to you giving me some pointers cos' I was sick of getting my ass kicked by the Bat Family." He then narrowed his eyes at Talon. "This doesn't mean I'm helping you with your plan."

"Of course." Talon agreed easily, having come to Naruto with the offer of some training soon after Naruto had started practising with his new gloves. Naruto had been reluctant at first, but he had accepted as a means to at least improve himself in order to at least wipe the smug smirk that was always on Robin's face.

Part of him also wondered if he should take up Batman on that offer of help, the new suit would certainly do him a lot better than his current one. However, Naruto had a feeling that Batman would take this as an opportunity to interfere with him more. That would also mean dealing with Batman trying to change his ways as well as being around both Robin and Barbara, the latter Naruto had avoided for the past two days. Not that she had reached out to him either.

Both friends had being silent and neither one was willing to break that silence just yet. Nor did it look like that would change any time soon.

"Batman's being taking an increased interest in you recently." Talon pointed out, breaking Naruto from his train of thought and he looked up at his pseudo instructor in confusion. "You're lack of activity in searching for the Fearless Toxin has made him a little worried I imagine."

"Is he here?"

"Oh no." Talon replied smugly, crossing both his arms across his chest. "He's too busy following the trail of breadcrumbs I left for him. It should lead him directly to the Court of Owls headquarters."

"You want him to go there?" Naruto asked dubiously. He may not know Batman all that well, and certainly not Bruce Wayne either. But he did know some of what Batman was capable of and if he followed the trail Talon left for him to the Court of Owls, he would put a stop to them.

Talon nodded his head. "Oh yes, it should work in making the Court of Owls push up their plans a little and that means mistakes, mistakes that would make it easier for my plan to work." The last part was a hint and Naruto shook his head in response to the unasked question and while Naruto couldn't see it, Talon grit his teeth.

"It's a trap?" Naruto asked quickly before he nodded his head in understanding. "Of course, it is."

Chuckling, Talon moved forwards to the edge of the building. "Come on, I want to show you something." He said and jumped off the side of the building, Naruto moved forwards and followed after him, his right arm moving with practised ease to dig his claws into the wall and slow his descent.

Landing with a roll, Naruto came to a stop beside the Talon who was crouched down beside a grate. "Where not training in a sewer, are we?" Naruto questioned not liking the sound of that plan all that much.

While training with the Talon was hard enough, the guy was ridiculously skilled and had no qualms about beating Naruto into the ground just enough that Naruto certainly wouldn't forget any time soon, but at the same time ensured he could continue training. Even then, despite never having being put through the ringer as much in his life, Naruto certainly wasn't one to shy away from pain.

So, while training with the Talon was helping improve massively, Naruto certainly didn't enjoy the idea of going into a sewer at all, let alone sparring in it. Though, the blonde did know that eventually he might not get a choice in the matter. _'Might as well tough it out if that's the case.'_

"Oh no." The Talon chuckled and Naruto released sigh of relief. "We're not training tonight; I'm instead going to show you something I think will interest you greatly." Lifting the grate off the floor, the Talon indicated for Naruto to go first and while the boy hesitated, he eventually did so. _'And it will allow me to evaluate just how loyal you are and if you can be trusted.'_

Smirking beneath his mask as he heard the boy complaining about the smell, the Talon closed the grate over his head before jumping down. Ignoring the glare sent at his direction by Naruto who had sewer water coating his clothes due to the splash the Talons landing caused, he moved forwards.

The tell-tale sound of footsteps following behind let him know that Naruto was following. _'Good, it's almost time now.'_ The Talon thought as they moved through the winding path of the sewer. _'And you'll have to pick a side eventually. For your sake Naruto, I hope you pick the right one.'_ He certainly liked Naruto, he had potential, a great deal of it and a drive that kept him getting up when he really shouldn't be able to.

While he would hate to kill the boy, if he got in his way of realising his ambition then Talon would do just this. He had been betrayed before, by some of his own masters no less and the Talon would not allow himself to suffer the same fate as his predecessors.

The Court of Owls would be his to rule, just as he was once promised by those that betrayed him.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Monday 20th April, 21:00._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_East End._

The sewers were still, the only thing moving through the faeces infested brown water being the rats that called this place home. The smell alone made it almost impossible for most people to even stomach coming down here, let alone the amount of diseases one could contract just getting any water on one's skin at all.

And if one overlooked all that, one would still avoid coming down here. After all, Killer Croc while having made a name for himself as gang leader recently, was the one that called the sewers home.

Rushing forwards, Barbara clad in her Batgirl outfit followed after Robin and Batman. As of yesterday, Batman had found a lead on the possible whereabouts of where the Court of Owls could be based. They initially had all been researching up on the numerous tales of the Court of Owls for any clue on where they could be based.

They had found nothing and so then turned their attentions to the rich and famous.

If the Court of Owls was as powerful as the Grandmaster had told Bruce they were, then that meant they had resources and steady supplies of cash. This alone would have been a huge task to complete.

Eventually, thanks to the wide array of technology at their disposal, they had narrowed down the search to a total of fifty of the richest and wealthiest people in Gotham. Then it was just a matter of searching the homes as discretely as possible.

After around forty-five houses searched and nothing to show for it, both her and Robin had been a little disheartened, but Batman had perceived. Like always, she and Robin followed and it was after searching another three homes that they finally found a clue.

The owl mask worn by all members of the Court.

Batman had quickly placed a tracking beacon on it and then returned back to the Batcave and waited. A meeting should be soon, a group that big and full of so many powerful people would require constant meetings to keep all members up to date on the schedule and they couldn't really rely on something that could be hacked easily.

A few hours later and their wish had been granted, the owner of the mask, one James Alloy. He was relatively young man of twenty-four having inherited his father's businesses, the fact he kept them from falling into bankruptcy was a miracle. He wasn't the smartest of people and she doubted the Court had recruited him for his brains. No, he either joined because he was too stupid to think that the Court would actually succeed. Or he had inherited the position from his father, much like everything else in his life.

If she was a gambler, she'd put all her money option C, both of them.

But maybe she was being biased a little she didn't really like James Alloy, mostly because he had some choice words about the 'scum' that lived in East End. Especially considering he had never set foot in that part of Gotham and didn't know that there were people like Naruto who were forced to live there.

Her already prominent frown due to the smell, deepened at the reminder of her childhood friend.

They hadn't spoken at all in the past two days and she missed him. The last time they hadn't spoken it had been one of the most miserable and boring times of her life, without Naruto life seemed to be just that little bit bleaker and darker.

But as much as she wanted to reach out to Naruto, she wouldn't.

Was she sorry about how things had gone so horribly the last time she and Naruto spoke? Yes, absolutely? But would she apologise? No.

She was sorry about how the secret of her being Batgirl came out and how much it hurt him that she kept it from him, yet Barbara would do it again. She became Batgirl to help Naruto and by revealing who she was, it would only serve to drag Naruto further into the shitty world they lived in. She didn't want that.

So, while it had taken a great deal of will to not reach out to Naruto, she didn't.

Naruto knew her and she knew Naruto, neither would apologise when they thought they were in the right and in most cases, would be too stubborn to admit they were wrong. Perhaps that was the problem but either way, Barbara wouldn't apologise.

Seeing light up ahead, the three came to a stop with Batman peeking around slightly. Moving back, he shook his head and took another look around, leaving Robin and Batgirl wondering where the Court of Owl where.

_'This doesn't make sense?' _Barbara thought sparing a glance to Robin who shrugged, though the frown on his face told her he was also worried as well. _'Is it a trap or is something else going on here?"_

That's when they heard movement from behind them, it was quiet and almost unnoticeable but down in the sewer and for those like her trained in stealth, it was loud enough. Spinning around, Barbara took a moment to notice that there were a number of individuals dressed just like the Talon with a few noticeable differences.

They were skinnier for one and slightly smaller as well, their outfits were also different. Their masks were the same but their body armour lacked the gold trimmings that the Talon she and Naruto faced had.

Still, she barely hesitated as she flung the smoke pellets she had in her hand on the ground.

With synchronised movements earned through working together for a long time, the group of three moved backwards and stuck to the wall allowing the Talons to burst through the smoke on the other hand and straight into the atrium, the three heroes nowhere to be seen.

"We know you're there Batman, you might as well come on out." The voice sounded from the atrium, smug and filled with arrogance. It was as if the owner of the voice thought they had already won despite the fight not having even begun. Annoying for sure, especially seen as though they had overcome greater odds, but it worked in their favour.

Through the smoke, she could see the signs from Batman and with a nod, she and Robin, moved away while Batman stepped out into view.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Monday 20th April, 21:20._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_East End._

Naruto had been unsure as he stood in the shadows of the atrium beneath Gotham City. He had quickly figured out that the Talon was showing him the Courts main meeting area and while reluctant, Naruto had followed if only out of curiosity.

Even then, there was no one here for a while, Naruto and the Talon remaining in the atrium alone for a couple of minutes before out stepped a well-dressed man in a white suit and an owl mask covering his face. He moved with arrogance down the steps coming to a stop at the podium and then spoke to Batman who was apparently here, something that Naruto did not know or expect.

But as he watched Batman step out into view, the undead Talons circling the caped crusaders position, Naruto had to question if this was part of the Talons plan as well.

While he was privy to most of the information behind the Talon's plan, Naruto always suspected that some of the more important pieces of his plan were kept secret. It's not like Naruto didn't expect this considering he hadn't accepted Talon's offer to join him. The information he had been told while quite large, was not the most important aspect of the plan and quite easy to figure out if one looked carefully enough.

"Ah, Batman." The man in the white suit greeted. "We meet at last."

Naruto turned to the Talon. "Who's that?"

"That is the Grandmaster." Talon replied shortly not saying anymore and while Naruto was tempted to push for more information, he didn't. Still, it certainly left questions as to why the Talon seemed to dislike if not despise the Grandmaster, even if it did partly answer the question as to why the Talon was going to betray the Court.

Turning back, Naruto realised he had missed some of the conversation that had been going on between Batman and the Grandmaster. "Surely, you can see that it would be best to work together to save this city."

Naruto scoffed in a mixture of bewilderment and amusement. "Does he really think he can convince Batman?" Naruto questioned dubiously and Talon shrugged.

"Who knows but either way it doesn't change the Courts plans." The Talon answered. "They've being planning their take over for years, the only reason they hadn't taken over sooner was because of the arrival of heroes and villains. Then it was just a matter of planning around them."

_'I doubt it's that easy as to simply 'plan' around them. If it was, I reckon Gotham would have been taken over much sooner than that.'_ He thought. "Either way, Batman's not going to join the Court. He'll fight and I doubt you'll be able to stop him."

"Perhaps." The Talon amusedly replied. "But that's not why he's here."

At the Talon's mysterious words Naruto thought hard as to what the reasoning for leading Batman here could be. A trap? Obviously, but a trap for what? To take him out? Possible, but too obvious and the Talon was anything but obvious. So what?

"Haven't figured it out yet?" The Talon asked and Naruto remained silent making him chuckle quietly. "It's simple really, what does everyone ask themselves about Batman?"

"Who he is?" Naruto muttered quietly as realisation dawned upon him. "You lured him here to learn of his identity, but how?"

"Well, seen as though you refused to tell me who he is, I had to go with my original plan." The Talon said walking forwards slightly with his arms crossed. "And find out with a little bit of hard work a trickery."

"You're going to find out Batman's identity through…trickery?" Naruto questioned with one brow raised in bemusement. "You do realise how ridiculous that sounds, don't you?"

"Perhaps it is ridiculous, but at the end of the day, Batman has to choose a side. Everyone does." The last part was said pointedly and Naruto shook his head.

"The answers still no and while agree that the best way to get rid of the criminals is to let them fight, we both know that the innocents would be the ones to suffer." The Talon shrugged causing Naruto to frown at the callousness shown by his part-time instructor.

That's when an explosion sounded as Batman threw a few Batarangs at the Grandmaster, well not directly at him as they struck the podium before exploding. Even so, the force knocks the Grandmaster back and left him stuck under a pile of debris in pain.

"Help!" The Grandmaster cried out as he tried desperately to move the debris on top of him, but he was unable to do so. "Talon, help me!"

At the same time, Batman was fighting off the undead Talons, soon joined by Robin and Batgirl. The three covering each other's backs as they four against their foes who despite their superior numbers, we're not used to working together like they were. This was where the Talons, both dead and alive fell short. They didn't know how to work together, they were trained to be the best, agents that could do anything single-handedly.

And in the old world before the time of superheroes and villains, they would have been capable of just that. But times had changed and while the Court of Owls never trained more than one Talon to be there agent, it left them with one fatal flaw.

They couldn't work as a team and that was something Naruto noticed.

The undead Talons had retained most of their old skills and while their manoeuvrability was not as great due to their bodies having eroded slightly, they were still dangerous combatants. Even then, despite their superior numbers they would occasionally get in each other's way unknowingly and it caused openings that the three heroes used to their advantage.

"Talon!" Naruto heard the Grandmaster cry out once more and turned to look at the Talon who had turned his full attention on him, ignoring his master's cries for help.

"You have a choice, Naruto." The Talon told him bluntly. "Join me and help me save Gotham city, save Barbara and Jim Gordon." Naruto twitched slightly at the use of Barbara's name. "Or don't, and we'll see if they can survive the coming storm."

Glaring, Naruto clenched his fists tightly. "Is that a threat?!" He demanded and the Talon chuckled lowly.

"Threats? Oh no, they are useless things. They're nothing more than half measures. Promises however, now those, those are the real deal." The Talon said and Naruto ground his teeth in anger.

"I thought you were going to let me choose a side?"

The Talon shook his head. "I was, but then I simply ran out of time and patience. I need your answer." He explained, his tone reasonable as if he wasn't giving an ultimatum. "And for your sake, I hope it is the right one because I promise, you will not like the consequences."

Naruto remained silent, glaring at the Talon in anger as the man waited patiently for Naruto's answer.

"Come now, you really believe that you can survive in this world on your own? Don't be ridiculous." The Talon said amusedly. "Batman is a far better fighter than you in every way and yet, he still requires the assistance of his sidekicks and was a founding member of the Justice League. If heroes like Superman and Batman require help, then what hope do you have to make a difference in this world alone."

Naruto continued to remain silent, his eyes turning to look over the Talon's shoulder and watching the three heroes fight. They were good, far better than him even if he could put up a fight against Barbara and Robin.

_'Maybe the Talons right.' _Naruto wondered in thought. _'I'm not as good as them and they rely on each other to thrive in this world where as I'm just barely manage to scrape by. Maybe I do need help.'_

His eyes then turned to the Talon once more.

If things continued and Batman couldn't stop them then what chance did he have on his own. Batman was good, extremely so and while he didn't know just how good nor how good the Talon was, the latter seemed fairly confident that he could beat Batman. If not, the Talon was still sure that he could hold Batman off for a long time, long enough for someone – the Undead Talons most likely – to come to his aide.

While Barbara and Robin were good, even Naruto could see that if it wasn't for Batman, they would be overwhelmed fairly quickly.

And if the Talon could beat Batman without the help of the undead Talons then the result would still be the same. Batman, Barbara and Robin would lose and Gotham would fall. If that was the case then nothing could save Jim or Barbara, certainly not him on his own.

While the two days of training he had undergone had certainly helped him improve greatly, turning his brawlish and formless style into a more fluid one. Even then, he hadn't managed to land a single hit on the Talon which told him one of two things. He was stronger than Batman, or that blow he landed against Batman was lucky

Either way, the result remained the same, if he didn't join the Talon now nothing would stop the Talon from killing Barbara and Jim.

I didn't ask you to become Black Hood! To become a murder!

Just as Naruto went to answer, his mind replayed the words Barbara had told him days ago.

I didn't ask you to become Black Hood! To become a murder!

Closing his mouth, Naruto clenched his fists tightly as the words once more played in his mind. Barbara was right, she didn't ask him to become a murder, to become Black Hood even if he had done it to save her. She wouldn't accept his help and would spurn him, if not hate him if he helped the Talon and so would Jim.

He couldn't betray them like that.

To become a murder!

His mind fixated itself on those few words and Naruto released a sigh of what sounded like defeat to the ears of the Talon. "I see you've finally accepted that everyone must pick a side at some point in life."

"Yea, I did." Naruto answered before swinging one arm up, the claws on his glove coming dangerously close to cutting into the Talon and would have done if not for the Talon's years of experience. "And it ain't gonna be yours, asshole!"

The Talon clicked his teeth in annoyance, his entire form hunched over in anger as he glared at Naruto who returned his gaze with one of his own.

"I see, then I'll deal with you just like everyone else who gets in my way." Then the Talon shot forwards and Naruto met his charge, knowing from his days of training with Talon that escape was all but impossible, it was best to face him head on and hope for the best.

Even then, the difference in skill was too great and unlike in their previous fights, the Talon didn't hold back.

Gripping Naruto's wrist as he went for a strike, the Talon ragged him forwards slamming a knee into Naruto's solar plexus. The young boy hunched over, gasping as all the air was driven out of his lungs in one hit.

But the Talon was not done.

The claws on his right hand flashed dangerously in what little light was in the atrium and slashed at Naruto's legs. Not deep enough to hit an artery, but certainly deep enough to make walking painful and difficult.

Crying out, Naruto dropped to one knee before a kick to the head knocked him back where his head slammed against the wall behind him. The force behind it sent Naruto crumpling as he lay there groaning in pain.

"You picked the wrong side, Naruto." The Talon said standing ominously over Naruto's form. "But don't worry, I won't kill you just yet. I'll keep you alive long enough to see Barbara and Jim Gordon suffer for your weakness."

With that said, the Talon turned and left, heading straight for the Grandmaster who was still trapped under rubble.

Naruto meanwhile clenched his fists tightly in anger, glaring murderously at the Talons back as he walked away. _'You dare!'_ Naruto growled internally; his fists propped against the floor as he pushed himself up into a kneeling position. _'I'll kill you!'_

Even with his head pounding and blood flowing out from the deep cut in his leg, Naruto pushed forwards. Knowing that he would be unable to move properly on his injured leg, he compensated bracing his right foot against the wall while placing his fingertips on the ground for support.

Using just the muscles in his right leg as to not aggravate the injury on his left, Naruto pushed off the wall, even pushing off his hands to give him that extra boost and jumped through the air.

The Talon must have seen the shadow descending upon him and looked up, but it was too late.

Naruto swung his right fist round and rocketed a punch into his jaw, the force behind it knocking the Talon over the edge of wall. The two plummeted to the ground where the fight was still going between the three heroes and the undead Talon. Yet Naruto was not done, with those few precious seconds as they fell to the ground, Naruto swung his left hand round this time and instead of curling his hand into a fist, he instead let the claws dig into the Talons chest.

With a cry of pain, the two landed on the ground, the air rushing out of their lungs as they rolled to a stop at the edge of the battle.

The three heroes temporarily froze at the sight of Naruto, but were quickly forced to turn their attention to the undead Talon who did not stop coming for them. Meanwhile, Naruto and the Talon slowly rose to their feet.

Clutching his bleeding leg, Naruto looked to see that the Talon was also clutching his chest were blood rushed freely from his wound. "You!" The Talon growled and Naruto smiled, though it quickly changed to a wince when his leg reminded him of his own injuries. "I'll make your death slow for this!"

Saying nothing, Naruto instead got to his feet slowly as the Talon advanced on him.

"Black Hood!" The cry caught their attention as they turned to see Batman burst from the battle, knocking aside one undead with a kick and rush forwards, while Barbara and Robin began to withdraw. The Talon attempted to intercept Batman, having also seen their attempt to escape.

However, as the two skilled fighters met, the difference was clear. Batman while slightly winded from his fight against the undead Talon was not hindered from a chest wound that made moving painful. Even though the Talon was trained to ignore the pain, the muscles connecting his chest and arms were not responding as well as they should.

As a result, Batman quickly made use of this and with a quick dummy to the right with a straight jab, something the Talon moved to dodge, he couldn't react in time as Batman also swung with his left leg round. And the blow struck, striking the Talon in the side and sending him to the ground.

Using this opportunity, Batman moved forwards quickly taking hold of Black Hood and throwing numerous smoke pellets into the ground.

As the smoke slowly cleared reaching that Naruto and Batman had disappeared, the Talon snarled angrily. _'I'll make him suffer for this.'_ The Talon thought thinking of how to make Naruto suffer most.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Monday 20th April, 22:00_

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_Wayne Manor._

Grunting, Naruto gripped the bottom of the chair he was sat on as Bruce Wayne's butler, Alfred slowly and methodically stitched up Naruto's leg. Meanwhile Bruce sat across from him, with Dick leaning against the wall and Barbara pacing up and down the living room. The three of them conversing as to what had happened in the atrium and theorising as to what the Court could be planning.

"There, all done." Alfred said, standing up and wiping his bloody hands on the towel he had placed on the table. "I would suggest avoiding putting any pressure on the leg as to not ripe the stitches, but if you are anything like some people I know, I doubt you can do that much."

Snorting, Naruto nodded his head at the sarcasm shown by the British butler. "Thank you." Inclining his head, Alfred left the room in order to prepare some refreshments.

"That's the thing, Dick." Barbara stressed, irritated not at her young friend, but at the situation as a whole. "We only know that they plan to take over Gotham, not how." Naruto remained silent as Dick and Barbara continued to argue until he noticed Bruce staring at him questionably.

Realising what the look meant, he sighed and nodded his head. "The Court are planning to use the Fearless Toxin to have the criminals and the people of Gotham cause as much chaos as possible." Naruto spoke, gaining the attention of the squabbling pair. "In the chaos, the agents they have scattered around Gotham will move and seize control of positions of influence giving the Court control."

Bruce nodded his head silently as if expecting the answer while Dick and Barbara still looked confused. Not about the plan, that they understood, but as to how Naruto knew what it was and the answer their mind came to was not a pleasant one.

"But the Grandmaster who runs the Court, won't stay in power for long." By the raised brow on Bruce's face, he had left them all stumped by that particular piece of information. "The Talon plans to betray the Court and take control himself. I don't know why exactly; all I know is that he was promised something by the Court and they betrayed him. I think the Grandmaster is the one responsible because the Talon despised him from what I saw. He also wasn't too pleased at the knowledge of what fate had befallen his predecessors and himself upon his dead."

"How'd you know all this?" Dick asked. "Hell, how did you even get down there in the first place?" His tone changed to more hostile and suspicious, something Naruto didn't react to having expected the question to be asked at some point.

"Dick." Barbara said, her voice calm, too calm. "It's obvious isn't it. Look at his gloves." Her face was blank, carefully keeping her feelings hidden as to what she knew to be true.

Dick did so and his eyes narrowed in a mixture of anger and distrust, not that he already didn't distrust Naruto in the first place. But Naruto did not do anything, instead looking at Barbara who was continuing to look anywhere but at him.

Robin went to open his mouth to speak. "Dick." Bruce spoke firmly and while a Robin protested initially, he quickly gave up when he saw that his mentor was not going to budge in this matter. "Though I too would like to know why you were down there."

Taking a deep breath, Naruto nodded his head. "I-I, the Talon." He corrected himself. "Came to me the night after you were taken and he, talked to me, gave me the gloves as a_ gift _and then gave me the offer of training. I refused at first, but he made a lot of sense to me. It was like he knew exactly what to say to get me to listen."

"He's being studying you." Bruce pointed out and Naruto agreed.

"I guess, I just got tired of constantly getting my ass kicked and so I accepted." Naruto said. "He was always asking me to join the Court, to become the next Talon. Said that he was going to change things not just in the Court but in Gotham and he wanted my help. At first, I just planned to use him to get some training and then, I guess I started to agree with some of his plans, some of his ideas they lined up exactly with what I wanted."

"He got in your head." Barbara inferred from what Naruto was saying. "He figured out exactly what you wanted and said exactly the right things to get you to agree and help him." She explained and then asked the question that had been on her mind since Naruto had begun speaking. "What made you change your mind?"

"He threatened people close to me, people I cared about." Naruto replied firmly, staring directly at Barbara. "He grew tired of my stalling and told me to make my choice, using those I cared about as an ultimatum. Guess he didn't do as much research as he should have done." Naruto's lips twitched upwards into a smile. "If he did, he would have realised that I'm not exactly one to respond well to threats."

Despite herself, Barbara smiled.

"So, the Talon's going to betray the Court and take over." Dick summarised quickly. "Great, now that makes things so much easier." His voice was practically dripping with sarcasm and Naruto's smile grew just a tiny bit wider, he may find the kid to be annoying as hell. But when he wasn't being a sarcastic, confrontational little shit – at least not to him – he seemed to be pretty alright.

"Sir." Alfred said as he entered the room. "You should see this." Quickly he pressed a button on the remote, the TV coming to a life to show an image of the Grandmaster stood in front of a wide window, the sight of Gotham clearly seen in the background.

"Greetings, I am the Grandmaster."

**A/N: So, another chapter done and I would like to apologise. Originally this was meant to be meant to be the end of the Court of Owls arc and full of action for what my last chapter didn't. However, I got to 12,000 and realised that I still had a lot still to write. As a result, I decided to split the chapter into two and believe, me the next chapter is still a long one. **

**Now I could do it as one big one, but I don't like to make a chapter more than 15,000. This is because I find it difficult to find a balance between dialogue, exposition and action. Too much of one and a story becomes repetitive and boring. So, I tent to keep a chapter less than 15,000 words as to make sure that a chapter is engaging. **

**But next chapter I can guarantee will be the end of the Court of Owls arc.**

**Now, onto the questions:**

**Reikson: Ah yea, it was purely by accident, when I go back and edit that chapters later on, I will make sure to change it.**

**Z-Breezy: Ah, I'm sorry you don't like Naruto, don't know why but I understand it's your opinion. If you can let me know why you don't like him that would be greatly appreciated, I won't make any promises to change things.**

**emiyaryo: I don't know, right now I'm trying not to focus on any other stories but the four I already have. This could change in the future, but I can't promise anything just yet.**

**RedDragonRevan: No, sorry I'm keeping the harem small as anymore will make things a little too difficult for me. I have loads of arcs planned out and even have the ending of this story partly in mind and Donna will make an appearance in the story, but I won't be making her a member of the harem.**

**mintushar844: Yea, I'm looking forward to getting to that part of the story, but it's a long time away yet. **

**Guest: Because in the DC universe, Chakra doesn't exist and I don't want to do that. I'm going to give him powers that exist in the DC comics and could give him powers similar to that of his Narutoverse. But I'm not giving him the powers of Chakra because I don't want to do something that's been done before. **

**Kid Coheed: It is a good idea, but one that I won't be doing. I already have Naruto's powers planned out and I have planned out many chapters with Naruto using his powers. It would be too much hassle for me to go back and re-edit them. Not to mention that I already have arcs set out that give Naruto more power. **

**Yohnos: No hidden blade, but he will get the glove of the Talon's. Also, I think there's been a mistake as I actually plan to make this a Naruto and DC crossover that spans beyond the Young Justice and incorporates a large number of DC characters outside of the Young Justice cast.**

**Seraph: I have considered the idea of Naruto joining and eventually taking over the League of Shadows and it is something I might consider as the story progresses. Still not sure, but something that would definitely make the story more interesting.**

**Bladewolf101: Not sure just yet, I'm focusing on these four stories for now as I don't want to over face myself and lose inspiration. As a result, it won't be for a while. **

**God dosent love me: Yes, I'm editing the older chapter and uploading them again. Mostly because it makes it easier for me to know which edited chapters I have and haven't uploaded. **

**LightninXX: Yes, book 1 is under Batman, but Book 2 will be under Young Justice, Book 3 will be under the Justice League Comics section as for Book 4s and 5s section I won't reveal because it's a major spoiler and as for Book 6 and beyond, I plan to have them be under DC Superheroes. Like I said, this is a major story and hopefully I manage to get it done because I have a lot of ideas and story plot points I want to complete.**

**Yakuza2010: Naruto's relationship with Slade will be difficult to describe. They will come to respect one another, but there differing viewpoints, life choices and overall careers results in them being enemies. Considering who Slade is and what he's capable of and willing to do in order to get victory, it will lead to Naruto disliking Slade as a person. It will be a similar relationship to the one Naruto has with Batman. **

**Sultan Asil Arslan: Power wise, I'm going for Toad Sage plus Hashirama sage mode, but with the Hashirama's appearance. This is because Naruto won't be training under the Toads to learn Sage Mode and as a result, his appearance when using Senjutsu won't be influenced by that. **

**As for Hinomaru Sumo, no I haven't but I'll go give it a look to see if I should incorporate some of its ideas on bloodlust.**

**Not A Flame: To be honest, by that logic nearly every crossover out there isn't actually a crossover so I don't see what your point is either. I'm including characters and lore from Naruto and incorporating them into this world, that is in a certain way, a crossover. Just because Naruto wasn't born in the Narutoverse doesn't mean this isn't Naruto. I'm combining two worlds together and actually making them one, that is a crossover.**

**If you want a perfect copy of Naruto from the anime then go watch the anime. I've taken liberties and done what many authors fail to do when making a Naruto crossover, and that's change Naruto's characters in response to the environment of this new world. I've kept the core elements of who Naruto is and also made changes to some of his more superficial changes in response to the harsh environment he grew up in.**

**Also to let you know, my version of Naruto's had a much harsher and more difficult childhood than canon so do with that information what you will. This results in changes, look at Naruto from Shippuden and then Naruto from Boruto. Are they the same? No, there different because Naruto matured. My Naruto isn't the naïve, annoyingly optimistic Naruto from Shippuden. Nor is he the hardened war veteran from Boruto. My Naruto matured earlier and in a much more different way than Naruto from canon, but at the end of the day it's still Naruto.**

**If you can't accept that then you're going to be sorely disappointed so I suggest not reading any further. **

**Anyway, hope this clears up any questions you had and if not please leave a review with your questions and I'll answer them as best as I can.**


	11. Chapter X - End of the Court

**Injustice: The Path to Hell.**

**Book 1: A New Beginning.**

**Chapter X: End of the Court**

**Just to let you know, in my other three Fics, A King in the Making, Breaking Point and Thor: The God of Thunder, I have caught up to my chapter notes. I have one chapter for Breaking Point and two chapters left for A King in the Making to update, but after that point they will be on hiatus. This is so that I can get more chapters planned out and also to allow me to do more research. This is especially true for my two Marvel Fics as there's a lot to cover and I want to make sure that those hardcore Marvel fans aren't coming after me with pitchforks and torches.**

**However, on my profile I will have a timeline up on there for this Fic which will have the arc name, the chapter title as well as the chapter title of the next chapter as well as its update date, so please go look at that for an idea on when it will be updated.**

"Normal Speech."

_'Normal Thought.'_

**"Demon Speech."**

_**'Demon Thought.'**_

_Location/Time_

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Monday 20th April, 22:05._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_Wayne Manor._

"Greetings, I am the Grandmaster." He spoke, his voice charismatic as he theatrically waved his arms outwards. "I belong to an illustrious and ancient order known as the Court of Owls. Some of you may have heard stories of us, believing us to be nothing more than a myth, an old folks' tale." The Grandmaster chuckled as if he had told a funny joke. "I can assure you; we are very real."

He paused allowing the meaning of his words to sink in for the people of Gotham. Meanwhile, the four heroes spared a glance knowing exactly what this meant, the Court had abandoned anonymity and had stepped into the open.

"We have waited in the shadows long enough, watching as our beloved city was plunged into chaos. We waited, bided our time for just the right moment to save this city, and that moment is now." Raising his right arm, the Grandmaster presented a detonator to the people of Gotham. "A few weeks ago, the villains known as Scarecrow created a new toxin known as the Fearless Toxin. The riots that happened were a cause of such a toxin."

The Grandmaster pressed the button and Naruto jerked in his seat as if attempting to stop the man even though it was an impossibility.

Even then, they all saw the sight of a small box appearing in the corner of the screen showing video footage of green gas flooding a street and spreading out through a few more. The people caught on camera froze, coughing slightly before everything went still.

Then there was chaos.

People started attacking those around them, firing guns and stabbing anyone they chose without any fear at all.

It was pure anarchy.

"As you can see, it is highly effective and that is only one. I have another twenty-two caches of the Fearless Toxin placed all over the city. In one hour, we will detonate them all." That's when the feed cut off and Alfred turned off the TV, the group silent as they digested the information.

"Why give us an hour?" Naruto asked eventually, breaking the silence that had befallen them.

"He gave us no list of demands to follow so giving us a time limit makes no sense." Barbara and Dick nodded their heads in agreement.

"Because they don't plan to make demands, it's a trap." Bruce deduced quickly. "He gives us an hour to go looking for the Fearless Toxin."

"And we'll have no choice but to spread out, even with the help of the GCPD." Dick continued as he too realised what Bruce had figured out. "We'll be split up throughout the city allowing the Talon and his undead to pick us off one by one."

"Then what do we do?" Barbara asked, still unsure as to what to do. If they went out to find the Fearless Toxin, they would be doing exactly what the Court wanted, but if they didn't, then they would be leaving the entire city vulnerable.

If heroes like Superman and Batman require help, then what hope do you have to make a difference in this world

If heroes like Superman and Batman require help

"We should call in for help." Naruto said, remembering the Talons words.

"What'd you mean, who's going to help us?" Dick asked, but by the looks on Bruce's and Barbara's face, they knew what he meant and while Barbara seemed willing to go along with the plan, Bruce did not.

"No." Bruce replied firmly.

"No?" Naruto asked incredulously. "I'm sorry, but you're being stupid. The Talon's counting on you being territorial and not requesting help. He wants you to do exactly that cos' it'll make things easier for him. I don't like the idea of teaming up with you guys, but I will because I've realised that the Talon was right, I can only go so far on my own. You realised the same when you teamed up with the Justice League."

"He's got a point, Bruce." Barbara agreed and even Dick nodded his head, though he seemed to look like he had swallowed a particularly sour lemon in doing so. "We haven't got much in the way of choices here, the Court's got us cornered. We go on our own then they'll pick us off one by one, or we go as a group and don't find all the caches in time. Either way, we fail."

That's when an alarm sounded.

"What's that?!" Naruto demanded, wincing as all four of them rose to their feet.

"Proximity sensors have been triggered." Bruce informed, pulling up his mask over his face.

"But how, how did they know we were here?" Robin questioned also putting his mask back on as did Barbara and Naruto.

Batman turned to look at Naruto. "It seems, that the Talon placed a tracker in you." Naruto looked at him in shock.

"That doesn't make any sense, we checked him." Barbara argued.

"Yes, we checked to see if there was something placed on him. But we didn't check to see if there was something placed in him." He directed a pointed look at Naruto's injured leg and his train of thought was quickly picked up on.

"Shit!" Naruto cursed as Batman told Alfred to put the mansion in lock down.

Barbara moved over to Naruto as he limped towards her and Robin. "Are you gonna be okay?" She asked in concern and Naruto waved her off.

"I'll be fine once the adrenaline kicks in." He informed her and while still unsure, Barbara nodded her head. That was when Batman came towards him and placed a briefcase down in front of Naruto.

"We haven't got much time, put that on." Knowing what it was, Naruto hesitantly nodded his head knowing this really wasn't the time to let his pride get in the way. The fact that the Talon had so easily torn through his suit had already told him he needed a better suit and while it certainly annoyed him, Batman was the one who had the suit that he needed.

With a deep breath, Naruto took the briefcase.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Monday 20th April, 22:10._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_Gotham Heights._

The Grandmaster released a sigh as he finished his speech to the people of Gotham city. The cameraman packing up the equipment and leaving the room as quickly as possible while the Grandmaster poured himself a glass of whiskey.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" The Grandmaster said as the Talon appeared from the shadows, swirling the glass of whiskey in his hand as he looked out over the city. "So much corruption and yet, so much potential."

"Yes, it is." The Talon said coming to a stop beside the Grandmaster.

"Tell me, Talon." The Grandmaster spoke. "That boy you took an interest, Black Hood. Did things go as planned. I hope they did, considering you left me trapped under rubble for a great deal of time."

The Talon was silent for a few moments. "No, I they did not." The reminder of the boys betrayal was enough to make the Talon's anger rise, especially as he was reminded of said betrayal due to the wound on his chest. The technology used to reanimate the undead Talons had been used in fixing the wound, but even then, there were moments of stabbing pain.

"A shame." The Grandmaster replied. "I had hoped that the boy would prove amicable to our ways, he would prove to be a good successor though it seems you overestimated yourself. It's why we have always taken young children, they're far more malleable, like you yourself were. Excellent soldiers to help me realise the Courts ambition to retake Gotham."

"Yes, they are." The Talon replied, tempering the anger he felt. "A shame that you won't live to see it come to fruition."

"Wha- "

Before the Grandmaster could finish, the Talon snapped the man's neck and let him drop unceremoniously to the ground. As he stood over the Grandmasters body, the Talon pulled out a device from his pocket and smiled happily.

"Wayne Manor?" He questioned in amusement. "How fascinating."

Spinning on his heel, the Talon turned and left the room intent on hunting down and finishing Naruto and the Bat Family once and for all.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Monday 20th April, 22:20._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_Wayne Manor._

The calm before the storm.

The common saying that referred to the tense moment of tenuous peace before a war. A moment of nerve-wracking terror that drove people to the brink of madness and sometimes falling straight into the abyss itself.

Naruto had never felt more nervous in his life than in this very moment.

Stood in the full body suit from Batman, the wonder at the feel of it and how compact and sleek the design of it was having worn off some time ago. And to make matters worse, his three temporary compatriots had been nothing but silent. No one had made a sound as they waited patiently in the main sitting room of the Wayne Manor and Naruto was growing increasingly frustrated.

His heart was pounding, and his foot tapped impatiently in the ground as he looked around the room.

Occasionally his eyes skimmed over Batman, Robin and Batgirl who, unlike him were the perfect picture of calmness. Just stood there, postures relaxed as if this was an everyday thing for them. _'Which in retrospective, it probably is.'_Naruto thought, honestly wondering what world he had stepped into where a thirteen-year-old boy and a sixteen-year-old girl could be perfectly calm despite facing down a trained assassin and entire army of undead assassins.

A sudden movement from Batman caught his attention as he looked up to the ceiling.

Naruto couldn't see anything; metal shutters having covered every inch of glass in Wayne Manor and while that certainly worked in their favour as it kept their position unknown. It also left them, with the problem that they couldn't see their enemies either. Unless of course, you were tapped into the security cameras which Batman was.

A loud bang a few minutes later followed by a crash alerted Naruto to the fact that their defences hadn't held up well against the undead at all.

Flexing his hand, Naruto put more weight onto his uninjured leg as he positioned himself beside Batman as the sound of rushing footsteps grew closer and closer. Tensing, Naruto took a deep breath in preparation just as the door burst open and in swarmed twenty undead Talons. All of them rushing round the room till they had the four of them pinned against the wall with the undead forming a semi-circle around them.

Then they parted allowing the figure of the Talon to walk forwards. "Bruce Wayne." He said amusedly. "I must say, that was a shock when I learned who Batman really was."

Batman said nothing, instead giving the Talon no time to say anything else. He threw a Batarang at him, the Talon then slapped it to one side with contemptuous ease. The weapon sung as it cut through the air, exploding and sending five undead flying through the air.

This was the signal and the four of them rush forwards, Naruto and Robin moving to the left while Batgirl and Batman took to the right.

Letting Robin take the lead, Naruto followed close behind and watched as the young boy leaped into the air, his leg swinging round in a kick that sent one Talon to the ground. Yet he kept moving forwards even as another Talon came up from behind. This was where Naruto came in, shoulder charging the Talon away before spinning round and slamming the back of his knuckles into a second.

Stepping back, Naruto quickly found himself under assault.

As a quick as he could, he parried the clawed strikes aside as best as he could. And that's when the opening presented itself just like Batman said, the Talon were skilled but whatever means were used to bring them back to life, stripped them of some of their skill. Left them rigid and caused them to create openings and thanks to the training from the Talon, Naruto was more than capable of taking advantage of this.

Catching one clawed hand in his left, Naruto pulled the undead forward and slammed his knee into its gut just like the Talon had done to him earlier. It didn't do much considering they were undead, but it still stopped its attack.

Something Naruto used, gripping hold of the arm with his free hand, Naruto tensed and spun round.

Again, whatever means used to bring the Talon back to life from the dead, hadn't stopped them from deteriorating slightly. Their bodies growing thinner as a result of no nourishment and nature taking its course. As a result, they were much lighter despite still packing a punch.

And so, Naruto easily managed to pick the Talon off the ground, spinning it round as a makeshift club that knocked five other Talons back.

Timing it exactly right, Naruto let it go while simultaneously calling out to Robin. "Robin, duck!" He shouted and without even hesitating, the young vigilante did so, looking up to see the two undead he had been fighting being sent to the ground as a third collided with it.

"Nice one!" Robin exclaimed with a laugh even though he quickly found himself under assault from another five undead, a situation Naruto found himself under as well.

Even then, despite these moments of victory, the undead didn't tire. They just got up no matter how hard the heroes hit them and kept coming back for me and it all boiled down to a battle of attrition. And at the end of the day, while Naruto may have a good stamina, it wasn't infinite.

Batgirl and Batman were fairing no differently.

With the Talon singling out Batman as the biggest threat, the oldest hero found himself under assault from not only the living Talon, but five of his undead predecessors as well. Batgirl ran interference herself, but she was limited in what she could do when under assault from five of them as well.

Even so, it didn't stop her.

Kicking one undead in the face, Batgirl spun round, sticking low to the ground as she swiped the legs out from another. As soon as she had, she placed her hands on the ground and pushed off avoiding a strike from a third Talon.

Yet while in the air, Barbara pulled out a few Batarangs and made a mental apology to Alfred before launching them to at the point where her five Talons we're currently converged.

Her aim was true as the four Batarangs embedded themselves in the bodies of the Talon exploded. Even then, she gagged as she noticed the splattering of blood but shook it off quickly. She had already seen the Talon repair themselves from similar explosions already, it was just the sight of it that put her off temporarily.

Even so, Batgirl didn't waste time as she landed on the ground and quickly rushed forwards to aid Batman and jumped, wrapping both hands around the neck of one Talon as leverage while lashing out with a split kick, sending two others to the ground. Not letting go, Batgirl spun round and used her weight and momentum to bring the Talon she was holding to the ground.

With this reprise, Batman flipped the fourth Talon into the fifth before blocking and parrying a few a strikes from the living one. Quickly, the two disengaged and put some distance between each other, Batgirl landing beside Batman in a crouch.

"We're at a disadvantage here." She pointed out and Batman nodded his head. "The Cave?"

"The Cave." He said and with it, the two moved forwards Batman using brute force to break down the guard of a few undead and punch a hole straight through the line. At the same time, Batgirl using the face of one undead as a springboard, jumped into the air, gripping hold of the balcony of the second-floor walkway.

Swinging herself up, Batgirl made a rush to the Batcave, knowing Batman was following behind, the undead no doubt hot on their trail. _'Just hope Naruto and Dick saw us getting out of there. Dick should know where we're going, hopefully.'_

**-X- Line Break -X-**

"Where the fuck are they going?!" Naruto questioned as he punched one undead before throwing it into a second. At the same time, Robin moved round slamming the butt end of his staff into one Talon before detaching his weapon into two escrima sticks.

"The Cave." Robin answered using his escrima sticks to hit any Talon that came within range, protecting Naruto's back and trusting Naruto to do the same for him.

Blocking one strike, Naruto swung his hand up creating a deep cut in one Talon before kicking it away. "Are we just going to stay here or what?" Ducking under another strike, Naruto elbowed it in the face before swiping at another sending it into the ground.

"Hang on." Robin said, gripping Naruto, he fired his grappling hook and it wrapped around the bannister of the second-floor balcony. Quickly the two were pulled into the air as the Talon's converged on their location, Naruto having to kick one in the face as it jumped up to follow them.

Jumping up, the two landed on the second-floor balcony to see the Talon's rushing towards the, with the living one watching them. Without any hesitation, the two rushed Naruto cursing the fact the he hadn't brought his gun as he had a perfect shot.

He doubted it would have worked, but it wouldn't hurt to try.

Either way, the two rushed down the corridors with the undead hot on their trail. Knowing where the secret entrance to the Batcave was, Robin took the lead while Naruto dragged behind a little. While the adrenaline pumping through his body had allowed him to forget the cut on his leg, it didn't stop it from being debilitating and as a result, Naruto wasn't running as fast as he normally could.

"Just here!" Robin exclaimed finding the entrance open and rushed inside, Naruto doing the same. The undead that had been just meters behind him unable to change direction in time and went straight past. Colliding with those in front as they attempted to turn back only for them to tumble to the ground in a large heap.

Robin used this to close the entrance both knowing that it wouldn't hold forever but would at least slow them down.

Panting, the two stood there to recover their breath while hearing the undead pounding on the other side. "How long do you think it's going to hold?" Naruto questioned only for them to see the wall denting slightly in places.

"Not long." Robin replied, quickly turning and rushing down, Naruto himself watching more and more dents forming.

"Right." With a nod, Naruto followed him down the metal staircase that led to an elevator. However, instead of waiting, Naruto used his claws to dig into the wall and slow his fast descent to the ground, Robin having used his grappling hook to scale down quickly, but safely.

"So, what's the plan?" Batman turned to see Naruto and Robin coming towards him as two large metal doors opened behind him.

"The undead are our main problem." Batman said gaining nods from both. "I'll distract the Talon; your job is to lead the undead into there." That's when they heard a number of big thuds and metal groaning and looked to see Batgirl sat in a large mech suit. "From there Batgirl will use the suit to keep the door closed."

"What is that?" Naruto questioned in awe, it was easily the size of a house and while it didn't look well-protected with a large number of wires exposed, it certainly looked intimidating.

"That's the suit used to build the Batcave." Robin informed.

Naruto then turned to Batman. "You think you'll be able to beat the Talon?"

"If not, I can certainly hold him off." Batman shrugged and that's when they heard the sound of the door upstairs breaking, the echo of it breaking clearly heard followed by the sound of rushing feet. "Get ready!"

Moving to the right, Naruto and Robin prepared themselves with Batgirl waiting by the door. Batman himself moving to the right in order to separate himself from Robin and Naruto.

That's when they saw the undead arrive and while they stopped at the ledge looking down, they waited much like they did upstairs. Then, as if receiving some unheard command, jump down, used their claws to slow their descent like Naruto had done earlier. Landing they rushed forwards moving as if they were going to go for all three of them, only to sudden to change direction and head straight for Robin and Naruto.

All except for one, the living Talon continued heading straight for Batman and quickly forced the caped crusader on the defensive with a sudden and brutal onslaught of strikes that would have overwhelmed a less skilled and experienced fighter.

Naruto and Robin on the other hand quickly found themselves conceding ground under the sheer number of undead. Each of them making sure to knock some back to give them breathing room only to find themselves under assault from another angle. It forced the two unlikely allies to once again rely on the other to protect their backs as they performed a fighting retreat directly into the room like they had planned.

Batgirl herself waited patiently for just the right moment to let Robin and Naruto get deep enough. While she did so, her eyes shifted to Batman and Talon, just like she had expected it was relatively equal.

Both Batman and the Talon were fighters of equal skill and while Batman was stockier, denoting to greater strength, the Talon was slimmer meaning greater speed. And their fighting styles reflected that, Batman was primarily on the offensive forcing his opponent to avoid or parry Batman's strikes instead of blocking. Occasionally the Talon would use an opening to slash at Batman using his claws to his advantage.

They worked, Batgirl could see the lines of red from where it had cut skin, but it wasn't deep, the protective suit Batman wore making it difficult for the claws to cut too deeply.

Which she could tell suited the Talon's fighting style perfectly. It was one revolving around finding that perfect opportunity to land a single killing blow that would end the fight once and for all. And that sometimes meant dragging the fight on and that's what he was doing.

He rarely went on the offensive allowing Batman to strike who did so with masterful skill, never giving the opening the Talon was searching for. But the Talon wasn't a skilled fighter for nothing, using his claws to cut at Batman and while they were small, eventually enough of them would form that it would be debilitating.

It was a battle of attrition which seemed to suit the Talon perfectly.

It did not suit Batman. He could do it of course, but usually his fights against superpowered individuals were about ending the fight as soon as possible. Using the environment around him, his repertoire of technology, masterful fighting skills and superior tactics to put his opponents in a position that allowed him to beat them quickly.

And that's what it boiled down to at the end.

Batman was a fighter who had built his style to fight numerous enemies at once or superpowered individuals and never to kill. The Talon was trained to be an assassin and an assassin never tried to get drawn into a fight with more than one person at a time.

This fight was in the Talon's favour and while Batman was on the offensive, he had yet to land a substantial blow. Nor had the Talon, but the Talon didn't need to do so in order to win.

Gritting her teeth, Batgirl fought the urge to aid Batman and instead focused entirely on her current task. She knew that if anyone could overcome the odds, it was Batman. He had done it plenty of times before and now would be no different.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

Batman and the Talon disengaged, moving back to put some distance between them both as they began to slowly circle one another. Neither liked being exposed like this, but due to the area in which they stand and the nature of their battle they had to do so.

Their fight had predominantly involved them circling one another and studying the other for any openings. Batman would then find an opening – a fake he had quickly learned but took them anyway as they were both too good of a fighter to leave any real opening and they would have to force them – and charged. What would follow was a quick and brutal exchange with Batman forcing the Talon back with powerful and quick strikes that were masterfully parried and dodged with the Talon swiping and slashing at Batman.

The two would then disengage and repeat the cycle over again with Batman littered with a few more cuts each time. Nothing major, but even Batman knew that enough of them would cause him to slow down eventually, even if it were for just a fraction of a second. That would be all it takes to give Talon the advantage.

Something he could not allow, the man was too skilled, and he doubted that even the combined skill of Black Hood, Batgirl and Robin could defeat the Talon even if he were tired. They would lose simply due to the difference in skill and experience and nothing would stop Gotham from falling into the control of the Court.

That was something he could and would not allow.

"You know it amuses me how you Wayne's always prove to be difficult for the Court." The Talon said and while Batman was intrigued, said nothing. One thing he had learned was that the Talon liked to talk. An odd thing for a trained assassin, but it served a purpose of allowing the Talon to probe his opponents and discover a psychological,weak point that could be exploited.

Besides, he doubted the Talon would stop talking even if he asked nicely.

"You Wayne's have always being some of the Court's greatest allies and worst enemies. The Court of Owls were always at their strongest when a Wayne was allied with them and even more so when the Wayne's led them." The Talon informed and Batman fought hard to keep himself from giving any outward sign that he disliked the information that had been told him.

He of course knew that his family weren't as good as they liked to present themselves and that some of his ancestors had done some bad things. But to join the Court, that was something he did not nor like the idea of.

"But your conscious would always get in the way and eventually one your family would betray us, and one does not simply betray the Court and live to tell the tale." Even though he couldn't see it, Batman could tell the Talon was smirking beneath his mask. Again, he gave no outward reaction, continuing to study the Talon for any opening and he found it.

A subtle shifting of his foot that exposed his left side completely. A fake no doubt, but Batman had long since learned that the only way to find an opening in an opponent of equal or greater skill to himself was to force it. False openings were equally as dangerous for the creator as it was for the opponent that fell for them.

Rushing forwards, Batman swung his leg round in a roundhouse kick that Talon blocked. His stance was firm, and his feet planted, yet even so his upper body jerked to the side as a result of the power behind the kick.

Even so, the Talon did not let this moment go and swung his free hand upwards to cut Batman's leg and would have succeeded had Batman not reacted in time.

Using his balancing leg, Batman jumped into the air and spun his body round in a clockwise direction, swinging his right leg round in a way that would have let his heel strike against the Talon's temple. A brutal strike that would have dazed even the likes of Killer Croc for a few seconds. For someone like the Talon, it was a knockout blow.

And there was no way of avoiding in time.

So he did the only thing he could and raised his free arm to block the strike.

As Batman's heel struck the Talon's arm, the assassin grunted and was forced to move backwards to lessen the shock of the blow. As a result, he sacrificed his grip on Batman, but not without digging his claws into the leg, leaving a few cuts on his lower leg.

But Batman did not stop, rushing forwards to capitalise on the opening presented to him. Only to have to lean backwards, the Talon's claws mere inches from cutting into his face and once again, the two disengaged in order to put some distance between them both.

"You're certainly skilled, unlike your ancestors." The Talon said, ignoring the dull throbbing in his left arm from where he had blocked Batman's heel strike. "Apparently my predecessors have killed quite a few Wayne's over the centuries due to the problems your family has caused us."

The two continued to circle one another cautiously.

"The Court even planned to finish the Wayne's once and for all to save us the trouble. Then your parents got shot in alleyway and you were just a young child, perfect for the Court's plans. Then you disappeared before they could reach out to you. Now I'll finish what my predecessors started and end the Wayne family for good."

Then the Talon went on the offensive.

The sudden change, halted Batman for barely a second before his body moved into action. Knowing that blocking would only give the Talon opportunity to cut him, Batman focused on moving and parrying. Leaning his body from side to side and slapping aside any strike that was getting in too close.

Occasionally he managed to lash out with a kick or punch, but the Talon just moved around it with masterful footwork and continued his strike. Batman had even landed a glancing blow to the Talon's slightly dislodging his mask, only for the Talon to use the momentum to spin and come round with a slash that nearly cut open his throat had Batman not blocked.

Even then, the claws cut into his suit and skin.

That's when a kick to his sternum managed to slip through, the various cuts and the blood that seeped out at a slow and gradual pace finally starting to catch up with him. The blow wasn't the strongest Batman had felt, but it certainly stalled him enough for the Talon to gain the upper hand.

Knowing this, Batman tried to put some distance, but again the Talon never let up. Constantly chasing after Batman with such determination that he never left the area within a few inches of the Caped Crusader.

Grunting as the claws on the Talon's cut deep into his style, Batman swiped with a backhand that the Talon ducked under only for him to fall for Batman's feint. With his left fist clenched tightly, and his muscles tensed, Batman swung his left arm up in a powerful uppercut that the Talon was forced to block.

The strength behind it lifted the Talon off the ground and his arms throbbed in pain.

Still, he gracefully flipped in the air and landed in a crouch.

Using this position, the Talon tensed his leg muscles and despite having only just landed on the ground for nary a second, pushed off the ground. He quickly closed the gap between him and Batman in a few seconds and once again, they were back where they started.

However, Batman had been prepared this time and with trained movements, pulled out a few Batarangs from his utility belt and threw them at the ground. It was a risky manoeuvre that posed just a great a risk to him as it did to the Talon, but he was trained and so jumped backwards just as they exploded. The force lifted Batman further off the ground, but he quickly recovered using his cape to slow his descent to the ground.

The Talon on the other hand had not being able to change his course fully and while he had managed to stop just out of the range of the explosion and raise his arms in a cross-guard to cover his face. He was still picked up off the ground as a result of the force and peppered with debris that opened a few cuts here and there.

Rolling into a crouch, the Talon looked to see that Batman was once again stood waiting.

Smirking beneath his mask, the Talon rose to his feet. _'It seems Mr. Wayne has realised that while he is skilled, I have the advantage in this fight. A pity, I was starting to enjoy myself.'_

**-X- Line Break -X-**

Ducking under a strike, Naruto pushed one of the Talons away while quickly turning to flip another away. It had been a constant repeat of similar moves, using kicks, flips and pushes to keep the undead at a distance in order to avoid getting overwhelmed by their sheer number.

It was a difficult task to do, despite how easy it sounded.

Every time he put distance between himself and one Talon, another would be on top of him in an instant. It left him with next to no time to breathe and even with his stamina, Naruto was starting to get tired.

And that wasn't even saying anything about Robin who despite his greater skill was struggling worse than Naruto. His breathing heavy as his movements had become sluggish, yet despite that he pushed on, but it was only a matter of time before he found himself overwhelmed.

Naruto knew this and so did Robin.

As a result, Naruto had started to take the lead more with Robin acting as a defence compared to before where Naruto followed Robin's lead. "I think we're far enough in." Naruto said.

"I don't know." Robin smacked his escrima sticks into an undead's face, before following it with a spinning hock kick to the face of another.

Kicking another in the chest, Naruto stumbled backwards tiredly as he once again began parrying strikes from the Talon's. "We don't have a choice." Naruto replied. "We're going to get overwhelmed if we don't get out of here now."

Robin was still unsure, but nodded his head knowing that Naruto was right. He was on his last legs and his argument, weak though it was, was nothing more than false bravado.

"Barbara, on my signal!" Naruto shouted and while he couldn't hear her reply, he could see the suit standing in front of the entrance in preparation. Its hands clutching the sides of the door in order to close them quicker than they would automatically. "Ready?"

Robin parried a blow from one Talon allowing it to stumble past him. "Yea, let's do this." He replied and with it, Naruto shouted for Barbara to close the door. At the same time, both rushed forwards, Robin using the Talon's heads as steppingstones while Naruto used brute force to just break through the swarm.

For extra measure, Naruto grabbed hold of the Talon at the back and with a grip on its shoulders, tossed it in the direction of the charging undead, temporarily halting a few of them.

As quickly as their tired limbs would allow, Robin and Naruto rushed for the exit where Batgirl was closing the door, the light from the Batcave slowly diminishing, plunging the room further into darkness.

Panting, Naruto felt his legs burning, but didn't stop and pushed on. It hurt, his lungs burned, and his breathing was heavy as each intake of air scratched at his throat, but Naruto couldn't stop. He knew that if he did, he wouldn't be able to escape and he would be shut in the room with the undead and killed.

That thought drove him on further, pushing himself as fast as he could with what little energy he had left.

As he came close to the exit, Naruto could see that it was almost closed and with set shoulders took one last step forwards and leaped as far as he could. He honestly didn't expect to make it, he expected to hit the closed door or be crushed between it, yet neither of those two things happened.

With a laugh, Naruto collapsed onto the ground beside Robin, the door closed behind them, with the undead pounding on the door from the other side.

"I'm surprised you made it." Robin said and despite the situation, Naruto laughed.

"Yea, me too." Rolling onto his back, Naruto looked up to see Batgirl giving him a smile while she climbed out of the mech suit.

Landing on the ground, Barbara moved forward and helped Naruto to his feet. "You guys okay?" She asked earning a shake of the head from both boys.

"Hardly." Naruto replied and she smiled, but the moment of rest was ruined all too quickly as they saw several Batarangs slam into the mech suit and a few more around the Batcave.

All three of them watched as the Batarangs beeped ominously before exploding. Each of them picked up off their feet and launched backwards as the whole Batcave went up in flames.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

Batman quickly leaned back avoiding a swipe from the a Talon and came forwards with two more strikes followed by a front kick. The Talon avoided them as he had expected and he moved forwards, the two fighters passing each other by.

Yet, Batman had already pulled out the remainder of his Batarangs and went to throw them at the Talon.

Or, that was the plan anyway.

Moving quickly, the Talon lashed out gripping Batman's wrists and jumped into the air, his knees tucked into his chest. Eyes widening, Batman tried to move out of the way and while his arms managing to come free and move back, the double footed stomp still struck him in the chest sending him rolling across the ground.

However, as Batman rolled at his feet prepared for the Talon's follow up attack, it never came.

Looking at his opponent more closely he saw his Batarangs held in the Talon's fingers. "I must say, these while simple are a marvellous piece of technology." He raised his right hand and looked at them more closely. "Such a shame that your morals stops out from using them properly."

Then with a flicker of his wrists, the Batarangs were launched across the room, most embedded into the mech suit near Batgirl, Robin and Black Hood, though a few were placed in pillars and other key structural points of the Batcave. Despite the small number, the compact explosives stored inside them packed enough punch in them to easily destroy stone pillars.

It was why Batman only ever aimed them at the surrounding area of criminals, close enough to knock them unconscious but far enough away to not kill them. Superpowered individuals were a different story as their powers allowed them to survive the force of the explosion.

Either way, as they beeped Batman realised just how precarious the situation had become.

But before he could anything, the Talon was upon him once more and he could do nothing except fight. And as he did so, forced further and further back with each exchange, Batman could hear the beeping of the Batarangs.

He had long since learned to memorise how many beeps they had before exploding, each on a timer to give criminals enough time to recognise what it meant and run away. Nothing more that a few seconds, five beeps long in fact.

**Five.**

Batman conceded another metre as he was just a little too slow in blocking the Talon's kick to his chest.

**Four.**

A blow to the head sent Batman stumbling back further.

**Three.**

Gripping hold of the Talon's fist, Batman lashed out with a punch of his own that was also caught by the Talon.

**Two.**

The two pushed against one another in a contest of strength that he began to win, pushing the Talon back a step.

**One.**

The Talon jumped up slamming a knee into Batman's chin jerking the caped crusaders head upwards as his ears rung. Yet while in mid-air, the Talon spun and slammed a kick into Batman's chest sending him backwards just as the Batcave exploded.

The whole cave shook as those pillars with Batarangs embedded in them exploded. The rest holding the various platforms groaned as cracks spread across. On the other side, the Talon could see the mech suit had exploded, collapsing to the ground. It would make getting the undead Talons free difficult, but not impossible. However, they would be unable to assist him for the rest of this fight.

Even so, the Talon rushed forwards slamming several punches into Batman's sternum who grunted in pain. When Batman recovered enough to strike, the Talon blocked the slow punch and responded with a low kick to Batman's knees causing it to buckle.

Gripping Batman's suit, the Talon brutally began to punch the hero repeatedly in the face. Each blow sending blood splattering through the air as Batman's nose broke. Yet he continued to throw punch after punch into the hero's face and each time Batman's head jerked backwards, his knees growing weaker and his vision blurry.

Hearing the pillars cracking even further, the Talon dragged Batman his cape and dropped him unceremoniously to the ground. Reaching down, he ripped the man's mask off and stared into the face of Bruce Wayne.

"You're good, Bruce Wayne." The Talon conceded. "Better than anyone I've ever faced and maybe if circumstances were different, you could have won." The pillars burst open and the platform above dropped, all its contents coming crashing down on top of Batman as the Talon jumped back.

Smirking, the Talon looked at the mask of Batman. "But in the end, we can never dictate these things. You were just unlucky." Whether Batman could hear him or not didn't matter to the Talon. As he stood there with the mask of Batman in his arms, the Talon could feel only pure euphoria as his victory was all but assured.

Nothing could stop him now.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

Groaning, Naruto blearily opened his eyes, his head pounding and a constant ringing in his ears. The light from the fires burning around him proved too much and Naruto closed his eyes and slowly opened them once more.

Looking around, he could see Robin laid nearby, clutching his leg in pain.

_'Barbara.'_ He thought, his eyes looking around once more till they landed on her figure and he released a sigh of relief. Only for his breath to freeze when he saw the blood pooling out of her head.

Quickly, Naruto attempted to crawl towards her only for his left arm to give out and with a cry of pain, dropped to the ground. "Shit!" He cursed, looking to see that his left arm was dislocated. Still, he didn't let that stop him and crawled towards Barbara with his one good arm. "Barbara."

Taking Barbara into his arms, he shook the unconscious girl awake.

"Barbara, can you hear me?" He asked urgently and released a sigh of relief when she released a groan.

"Naruto." Barbara winced, one hand moving up to clutch her head where Naruto's good hand cradled it. "What happened?"

As Naruto checked her head, he noticed that it was nothing more than a graze which was good, but he would reckon she had a minor concussion. "The mech suit we were stood by exploded and we were caught in the explosion." He explained.

"And by the looks of things, most of the Batcave was also caught in similar explosions." Robin exclaimed, coming to rest beside them as they took cover behind a pile of debris. "You guys okay?"

"Dislocated my arm, but other than that I'm fine." Naruto then looked down to Barbara as did Robin. "I think, I think she might have a concussion, so she'll be fine. The bloods from a graze." Robin released a sigh of relief having been worried by the blood at first.

"Batman?" Barbara asked, still not quite conscious enough to form full sentences.

Even so, Robin and Naruto knew what she meant. "Batman…" Robin began, hesitant to answer, Naruto himself also looked to Robin for the answer. "From what I saw, Batman is defeated for now."

"Shit." Naruto cursed once more; a sentiment shared by the other two.

"We're the only ones that stand between the Talon right now." Robin explained. "Luckily, the undead Talon's are still locked away, the ruins of the mech suit keeping them contained." That was some good news at least, but it still left them with the biggest threat to save Gotham, something they knew.

"Anyone got any ideas on what we can do?" Naruto asked as it meant that they were all that stood between the Talon and his takeover of Gotham city. "No?" He questioned when he saw that Robin had nothing and Barbara was still recovering. "Alright, guess that means we've got to come up with something on the spot."

Robin snorted in amusement at the understatement of facts. "I've broken my leg so I'm not gonna be much help in a fight, I could provide support from a distance." He answered, pulling out a few Batarangs, something Naruto wasn't all too keen about considering they were responsible for their current predicament. "Don't worry, I'll make sure their non-explosive unless absolutely necessary."

Naruto nodded his head and then looked down at Barbara to help her sit up fully. "Guess that leaves me with actually fighting the Talon." Barbara went to protest but winced at the killer headache that struck her. "No, Barbara." Naruto said firmly. "You've got a concussion; you'll be seeing double and unable to concentrate."

"And you've got a dislocated shoulder." Barbara replied, regaining some of her sarcasm.

"I can help with that. Though this is going to hurt. A lot." Robin warned and Naruto nodded his head. "Here, bite down on this." Taking the piece of leather, Naruto put it in his mouth and bit down on it in preparation, also taking Barbara's hand. "Ready, on three. One, two…"

Robin quickly pushed Naruto's arm back into his socket and Naruto groaned loudly in pain, his cry of pain quelled by the leather in his mouth.

Spitting out the leather, Naruto panted as his shoulder throbbed in pain. "You enjoyed that." Naruto snarked and Robin said nothing in reply, giving only a smirk in response. "Well, I'm leaving support to you. I'll try and get him to reveal where the detonator is and keep him distracted long enough for you to get it, can you do that?" He asked and Barbara nodded her head after a few seconds.

Looking over the debris, Naruto saw the Talon stood looking into the ripped mask of Batman.

"I think now would be a good time to hit him with an explosive." Robin also looked and nodded his head.

"Get into a position, I'll throw them at his feet and destabilise the ground, should put him off balance enough for you to gain at least a few hits." Nodding his head, Naruto squeezed Barbara's hand once more and moved to get into a better position to attack the Talon.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

Smirking, the Talon looked at the mask of Batman. The euphoria he felt as his victory was all but assured was so great, that he completely forgot about the other three heroes. And as he stood there, the Talon took a deep breath a smile forming beneath his mask as he closed his eyes.

_'I have done it.'_ He thought triumphantly. _'I've won, Gotham is mine.'_

Chuckling, the Talon turned around and looked out over the burning cave. His eyes panning over the fallen monuments of Bruce Wayne's former victories as Batman. Then his ears picked up on the sound of pounding and looked towards large the doors that had once been opened.

His eyes then moved down to the destroyed mech suit and his eyes lightened with remembrance. Quickly, they scanned the area for any sign of the three heroes but found nothing.

Realising that they could either be unconscious or killed in the blast, he moved forward cautiously. He was also very aware that there was a chance that the young heroes could be waiting, hiding from his sight in order to ambush him when his guard was down. The fact that they hadn't done so earlier told the Talon that either they were unconscious or had been caught in the explosion and sustained some injuries that had prevented them from attacking.

Moving forwards cautiously, the Talon kept analysing the area for any sign of the three.

That's when his ears picked up the sound of whistling and looked to see three Batarangs flying towards him. Yet as his eyes picked up on the trajectory of them, he jumped into the air. It proved to be a wise decision because as soon as they pierced the ground and exploded.

At the same time, Naruto burst out from behind his hiding spot and as soon as the Talon landed on the ground, was already swinging his fist round.

It was too soon for the Talon who in his arrogance hadn't fully prepared for an assault despite expecting one.

The attack slipped through the hasty guard the Talon put up and his fist dug into the assassin's stomach. But Naruto followed this up with two fast and powerful punches to the man's side and then an uppercut that snapped his head back. To finish it all off, Naruto landed a spinning back kick to the man's stomach sending him rolling across the ground.

Getting to his feet, the Talon recovered and parried Naruto's next attack and while Naruto stumbled forwards having been put off-balance, the Talon was already following it up with a roundhouse kick.

Gasping, spittle burst from Naruto's mouth as he stumbled back, completely exposed.

However, the Talon did not capitalise and instead stood by to allow Naruto to recover. "I'm surprised at you, Naruto. Surprised and disappointed." The Talon stated as Naruto released a final cough before raising his guard. Even then his stomach protested due to how much power was in the kick.

"Oh yea." Naruto replied. "What makes you think I care?"

"Oh, I doubt you do." The Talon said and Naruto could tell he was smiling beneath his mask. "But I must say I didn't expect you to be so rash and attack me head on, surely you don't think you can win this fight. Or it's a matter of you not winning and simply distracting me." Naruto's eyes flickered slightly to where Batgirl had peeked her head out.

The Talon noticed this and looked only for him to see nothing; Batgirl having quickly hidden behind the debris once more.

"I see, so that's your plan. You and Batgirl or Robin are simply the distraction while the other comes up and takes the detonator from me." Chuckling, the Talon pulled out the detonator from one of the hidden pockets on his suit. "This is your target, very well." Waving it slightly as if to mock Naruto, the assassin then clipped the detonator to his waist. "Let's see if you have what it takes to take it."

Naruto didn't move however, remaining standing where he was. _'What's he playing at?'_ Naruto questioned internally, wondering why the Talon was being so arrogant. He always was, but it served a purpose of making his opponents angry and giving him the advantage when they inevitably made mistakes. _'But this, he's being different. It's not like him to be arrogant like this, it's different to his usual arrogance.'_

Cautiously, Naruto moved forwards.

Another handful of Batarangs cut through the air thanks to Robin and the Talon quickly had to dive to one side. Something Naruto used as an opening, rushing forwards to engage the Talon in close quarters.

It was a quick and brutal exchange that resulted in Robin having to use a few Batarangs to stop the Talon from continuing his assault on Naruto's exposed body.

Putting some distance between them, Naruto panted heavily as he coughed, a few cuts bleeding slowly. Again, Naruto circled the Talon in a similar fashion to Batman, wary of getting close where he knew he would have no chance of winning. But at the same time, Naruto knew that the only way her would be able to distract the Talon would be by getting up close and personal.

Sighing, Naruto tensed his shoulders before charging in once more.

Much like before, Naruto threw the first strike only for the Talon to easily counter the attack. Ducking under the kick and going for a slash, however unlike before Naruto leaned his head back so that the claws were within a hairsbreadth of cutting him.

Using this, Naruto followed up with a strike like before only for it to be blocked and then to receive a backhand that whipped Naruto's head to one side. But, much like the Talon had taught him, Naruto spun with the strike using the momentum to follow up with a punch that the Talon easily avoided.

The blonde vigilante then crouched down using his right hand to continue his attack, except this time he went lower and tried to cut at the detonator and free it from its hold on the Talon's waist.

Yet, all he managed to do was lightly scratch the edge of the detonator as the Talon jumped backwards.

Moving backwards, the Talon lashed out with a kick that Naruto blocked and went to follow up with a straight jab. Catching it, the Talon used Naruto's momentum to throw Naruto away in order to put some distance between the two of them.

Naruto got to his knees and looked at the Talon with narrowed eyes, something the Talon did in turn, no longer underestimating his former student. "Almost had you there." Naruto said. "Must be getting slow." Clenching his fists, the Talon tensed his body in anger.

Taking a deep breath, the Talon calmed himself in order to not allow his anger to get the better of him. Normally he was in control of his emotions, but with victory so close and it nearly being stripped from his grasp had caused him to be a little more emotional than normal.

Not saying anything, the Talon decided to stop playing with Naruto and charged forwards intent on ending this as soon as possible.

Again, another few Batarangs were launched at him from his left, but the Talon just dodged them with ease and continued his charge to Naruto who had lowered into a defensive stance in preparation.

Thanks to his own training, the holes that once being in Naruto's guard had lessened, but had not completely disappeared.

Not to mention, Naruto lacked the experience to tell faints from actual strikes and as a result, fell quite easily for the Talon's trick. Raising one hand in order to block a punch from the assassin, Naruto left his stomach exposed to a roundhouse kick that slammed into his side. The force behind it picked Naruto off his feet as he felt his ribs shift.

Still, Naruto made sure to stand his ground, thanking Robin for the long-distance support as the Batarangs halted the Talon's follow up strike. It didn't give Naruto much time, but it gave him enough in order to regain his footing.

Even then, the Talon was on him once more.

Blow after blow struck down on Naruto who weathered the storm as best as he could. His guard was firm and managed to block most of the Talon's strikes. Of course, due to the Talon's clawed glove his arms were covered in cuts and more kept on appearing. But even then, the vast majority were blocked with only a few getting by.

_'Shit!'_ Naruto cursed mentally as the Talon started going for some slashes to Naruto's legs. Thankfully, due to Batman's suit, Naruto only received a few smaller cuts instead of deeper ones. _'This isn't looking good. Come on, Barbara. I need you to save my ass.'_

Again, and again, the Talon kept on attacking Naruto who tried his best to block as many as he could, but no matter how hard he tried more and more of the Talon's attacks kept slipping through his guard.

And then, he saw her.

Having seen that the Talon was solely focused on Naruto and spending another few second to ensure that wouldn't change, Barbara then burst out from behind her hiding place. Having nearly been seen by the Talon previously, Barbara had been cautious and moved to a different location, then it was a matter of waiting for the Talon's back to be exposed to her.

It killed her to watch Naruto be unable to do anything but defend against the Talon's never-ending assault. The trained assassin just kept coming and her friend was barely managing to block the strikes coming his way.

But she had to wait, wait until the correct moment presented itself before she could strike.

And then it came.

With no time to waste and throwing all stealth out of the window, Barbara ran as fast as she could. She stumbled slightly in the beginning due to her concussion, but Barbara ignored it. Naruto was being attacked and would be killed if she didn't do something.

Without hesitation, Barbara rushed forwards and she saw Naruto's eyes flicker to her.

The Talon must have seen it as well as he turned to look, lashing out with a sidekick to Naruto's stomach and went to turn around. Or would have had Naruto not dug his claws into the Talon's leg and held it firmly in place.

The sudden resistance to his movement left the Talon off balance allowing Barbara to rip the detonator from his waistline and moved away.

With a roar of anger, the Talon went to swipe at Naruto only for the blonde to move his head back, even then it was not fully out of the way. Some shallow cuts opening up on his face and blood spilling out.

Blinded by the blood getting into his eyes, Naruto did nothing and kept his grip on the Talon's leg, digging his claws in deeper.

That's when he felt the Talon's other foot collide with the side of his temple and it took all Naruto had in order to just stay conscious. Yet somehow, he not only did that, but also managed to keep his grip on the Talon's leg, his right foot only inching slightly in order to keep his stance firm.

Knowing that staying in close any longer would be suicide, Naruto dragged his claws down the Talon's leg leaving deep cuts and tearing through all the man's muscles on his lower leg and put some distance between them.

Groaning, Naruto dropped to his knees with his head pounding and wiped away the blood clouding his vision as best as he could. It didn't work all that well as he couldn't see all very well due to the blotches of red in his vision, but it was certainly better than before.

"Naruto, are you alright?" Barbara asked, coming to crouch down beside him and Naruto nodded his head, unable to talk as he focused on recovering his breath. Both of them then looked to the Talon to see him taking in deep breaths as he tried to ignore the pain he felt. Blood pooled from his legs where it seeped out of ten deep lines in his leg that had shredded muscle, tendons and even ligaments.

It would be a physical impossibility for him to be even capable of standing on it, let alone continuing this fight.

"I'll kill you!" The Talon snarled angrily. "You've ruined everything! Everything I've worked so hard for and you've ruined it all!" Getting to his knees the Talon revealed that he had a few Batarangs held in between the fingers of his right hand, no doubt being the ones thrown by Robin throughout the course of the fight. "I'll kill you!"

He threw the Batarangs with as much strength as he could muster and the aim would be true. Due to Barbara and Naruto being huddled together, neither would escape alive.

However, they were saved by a wall made entirely up of green light sprung to life in front of them, the Batarangs bouncing off it and clattering on the ground harmlessly. All people there looked to see a figure clad in green floating in the air, his right hand extended as a ring glowed green on his hand, brighter than the suit he wore.

"Well, this is certainly something I didn't expect." The man, that as he lowered to the ground, revealed himself to be Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern.

**A/N: And there we have it, the end of the Court of Owls arc. Now, some of you may have questions about this so let me explain before you put them in a review. First of all, the Talon and Batman have fought before in the comics and even in animated movies and it has been shown that the Talon has beaten Batman. So yes, Batman losing to the Talon is a possibility even in comics.**

**But for those of you who still don't like it, let me explain. First of all, Batman has a fighting style that in my opinion is focused on large groups of people or a small group of superpowered individuals if not a single one. This involves using a mix of martial arts, technology and his own mind. The Talon on the other hand has a fighting style focused entirely on either one-on-one combat or combat with a small number of people. That doesn't mean Batman is useless in one-on-one combat as there's a number instances in which he has proven he can do just that. But his fighting style is suited to like I said, taking down superpowered individuals or large groups of people.**

**However, this gives the Talon a slight advantage in this fight against Batman. Then there is the fact that Batman had already being in a fight against the undead before and then had engaged the Talon and the undead in Wayne Manor before that. He was tired, not exhausted and incapable of winning, but he was slightly more tired than the Talon. Then there are the cuts Batman was dealt. Again, not deep but enough that it made Batman just a fraction of a second slower. In a fight between two people of equal skill, that fraction of a second is enough to give one person the advantage.**

**If the Talon and Batman were to fight on equal footing then it could go either way. Just because the Batman lost this fight doesn't mean he couldn't have won any other time. Not to mention Batman studies his enemies for weaknesses that he can exploit, the Talon is the same and in this instance. The Talon had far more information and knowledge on how the Talon fought than Batman did thanks to Batman being caught on camera many times.**

**Also the reason for Hal Jordan turning up. First of all, this arc like I said was about teamwork. Did you think that was just for Naruto? Oh no, while Naruto will be the main focus of character development, he isn't the only one. No, Batman is one of the people who will also go through some character development as well. If you don't like it, then let me know and I will answer your question as to why I did it.**

**Now, onto the questions:**

**Guest: I'll answer your second question first. Right now, things are pretty tame in terms of how darks it's going to be because once we get past Young Justice Season, shit is going to hit the fan. Like seriously, everything that could possibly go wrong is going to happen and Earth will make Gotham look like sunshine and daises and Gotham at that point will be even worse. Believe me, the world's going to be fucked and what can you expect in a world where people can destroy planets.**

**As for how long, I have 39 arcs planned out including an epilogue, though I only have up to the first couple of episodes in Young Justice Season 2 fully planned out and ready to be turned into chapters. Everything else is nothing more than basic ideas and characters included. So yea, we've still got a long way to go before we are anywhere near completion.**

**Unbenant: I'm not even going to answer that question because I've answered it plenty of times. If you want an answer please read the answer/rant I put at the beginning of chapter 5.**

**Shin: In a way, yes he is though his role is a bit different than Damien's was. And yes, thank you for seeing why people like Batman don't kill. I want to show that this world is as easy to understand as Naruto believes and that killing has consequences just like not killing does. Right now though, Naruto is being stubborn and I'm playing into that. But as the fic progresses Naruto will begin to change, he won't be like Batman in his refusal to kill. But at the same time he won't be like he is now either.**

**goldshqipe: He will join the Young Justice team due to events that will happen soon and while he won't be a member of the Teen Titans he will be at least friendly with some of them. Though eventually, I plan to have Naruto and others form a new team. Whether Naruto will be the leader still remains to be seen for now.**

**K1B4ND: Yes and yes. He will have a number of powers including a meta-human power similar to that of Kyuubi chakra mode and also Magic to be similar to that of Chakra. I didn't want to give hime chakra because that would mean finding a way to integrate this whole new energy system into DC and I don't see the point when there's a number of different options available.**

**Vizard890: No, sorry though that would be a good idea. However, Talons identity will be revealed next chapter and as for Minato. He is dead in THIS dimension as is Kushina.**

**Elchabon: For the harem I have Barbara (Batgirl), Kara (Supergirl) and Koriand'r (Starfire). Hoep you like those choices though don't expect this to be a Naruto collects girls kind of story. No the relationships will be rocky and all other the place as one would expect.**

**mintushar844: Sorry, no Wonder Woman and Naruto pairing, it's been done to death.**

**Akren Alumni: Naruto's powers will solely be his own, no Kurama involved. However, as he gains more and power, his mind becomes clouded by a rage and he acts like a Berserker, unable to deferential between friend or foe.**

**tamagat: Yes, Narutow will learn to control his powers. It's just like in Naruto the more he power he gains that harder it is and eventually if he draws too much before he is ready he loses control.**

**Guest: Yes, he will be a member of Young Justice and thank you very much.**

**Yakuza2010: Yes, Naruto will eventually leave Gotham to get stronger, in fact that will be happening after the next arc. Also, not Lady Shiva, but someone equally as skilled and perhaps even far more dangerous. It depends on your opinion of them.**

**Chronos500: Sorry, but no. Zatanna's pairing has already been decided as has Naruto's and the main characters of Young Justice.**

**uchihaNaruto247: Naruto at the end of this chapter is on the same level as Barbara and Robin. Not in terms of fighting skill, but when combining his physical stats which are higher than there's on top of his slightly lower fighting skill, he is able to fight them relatively equally. Out of ten fights, he could win half of them against either one of them. But Batman is still beyond him right now. So he will gain powers before he is able to fight Batman equally, but he's already equal to Barbara and Robin.**

**Guest: Okay, you're point is. This is a FanFiction, what else did you expect besides me putting my imagination to work. I'm sorry if it doesn't fit in with your own idea on how this story should go. If that's the case then go write one yourself.**

**Yohnos: Abso-fucking-lutely. That is going to be a pivotal part in Barbara's character development and who doesn't want to see Naruto tear apart Gotham and everyone who gets in his way on his quest for vengeance. I certainly do. It's happening my friend because this story like I said, is going to go to shit after season 2.**

**Bladewolf101: To be honest I skipped it so I don't know, but I don't think it will be. I never really liked the idea of Batgirl and Batman being together so when I realised that the scene was heading that way I just skipped the whole section of it. **

**tamagat: A good idea, but sorry not happening. I've already got Naruto's powers planned out and I don't want to redo any of it.**

**Yakuza2010: Yes, that's something I will be expanding on between Naruto and Deadshot. I didn't originally and that's something I'm going to be definitely changing. I developed Naruto and Killer Frosts relationship, small though it is but didn't do so with Naruto and Deadshot. It won't be huge scenes of dialogue, but a few snippets here and there is what I'm aiming to include.**

**nliochristou: Yes, I will be diverging after season 2 and making my own timeline including some of the more popular DC comic book stories. But yes, I will also be including YJ season 3 characters though they won't appear until much later on. As for which version, Cyborg will be a member of the Team during the time skip between season 1 and 2, and will become a member of the Justice League at the end of YJ season 2. As for appearance wise, you can choose, I'm not fussed on appearance unless I specifically say what they look like.**

**Anyways, hope this clears up any questions you had and if not please please a review with your questions and I'll answer them as best as I can.**


	12. Data Sheet II - Court of Owls Arc

**Injustice: The Path to Hell**

**Character Profiles:**

**So, these data sheets are gonna be a little different to how they were before. I've included, age, height, weight, appearances as well as powers. The strength, speed, etc. section is still going to have tiers going up to ten and four in total. However, intelligence and fighting skill will go up to twenty simply because it was getting difficult to show how things differ.**

**To break the five mark you need simply basics in fighting skill and just average intelligence. To break ten you need intermediate skills in fighting, and either above average intelligence or good tactical ability. To break fifteen you'll need advanced fighting skills and a genius level intellect. As for reaching twenty you'll need master level martial arts skills and omniscience. It's as simple as that, or not really. **

**As for unique powers they are being ranked on a scale of one to ten. It basically looks at how versatile, how dangerous, how destructive and how many powers the individual has. For ten you'll need powers comparable to that of Darkseid. So yea, it could be subjects change and I might increase it to twenty depending on if I need to or not, if so I will go back and edit these earlier data sheets. **

**Post-Court of Owls Arc.**

Name – Naruto Uzumaki.

Alias(s) – Black Hood.

Age – 16.

Height – 6"1.

Weight – 180 pounds.

Hair Colour – Blonde.

Eye Colour – Blue.

Powers:

N/A.

Data:

Strength – 8/40 (Human Tier).

Speed – 6/40 (Human Tier).

Durability – 7/40 (Human Tier)

Endurance – 10/40 (Human Tier).

Fighting Skills – 8/20.

Intelligence – 6/20.

(Unique Powers – 0/10).

Total – 45/200 (45/210).

-X-

Name – Barbara Gordon.

Alias(s) – Batgirl.

Age – 16.

Height – 5"5.

Weight – 126 pounds

Hair Colour – Red.

Eye Colour – Green.

Powers:

N/A

Data:

Strength – 7/40 (Human Tier).

Speed – 8/40 (Human Tier).

Durability – 5/40 (Human Tier).

Endurance – 8/40 (Human Tier).

Fighting Skills – 13/20.

Intelligence – 15/20.

(Unique Powers – 0/10).

Total – 56/200 (56/210).

-X-

Name – Bruce Wayne.

Alias(s) – Batman.

Age – 31.

Height – 6"2.

Weight – 210 Pounds.

Hair Colour – Black.

Eye Colour – Blue.

Powers:

N/A.

Data:

Strength – 10/40 (Human Tier).

Speed – 10/40 (Human Tier).

Durability – 10/40 (Human Tier).

Endurance – 10/40 (Human Tier).

Fighting Skills – 20/20.

Intelligence – 19/20.

(Unique Powers – 0/10).

Total – 79/200 (79/210).

-X-

Name – Richard Grayson.

Alias(s) – Robin.

Age – 13.

Height – 5"2.

Weight – 90 Pounds.

Hair Colour – Black.

Eye Colour – Blue.

Powers:

N/A.

Data:

Strength – 6/40.

Speed – 8/40.

Durability – 5/40.

Endurance – 7/40.

Fighting Skills – 13/20.

Intelligence – 15/20

(Unique Powers – 0/10).

Total – 54/200 (54/210).

-X-

Name – Johnathan Crane.

Alias(s) – Dr. Crane (Formerly), Scarecrow.

Age – 32.

Height – 6"0.

Weight – 140 Pounds.

Hair Colour – Brown.

Eye Colour – Blue.

Powers:

N/A.

Data:

Strength – 5/40 (Human Tier).

Speed – 6/40 (Human Tier).

Durability – 4/40 (Human Tier).

Endurance – 5/40 (Human Tier).

Fighting Skills – 5/20.

Intelligence – 15/20.

(Unique Powers – 0/10).

Total – 40/200 (40/210).

-X-

Name – Waylon Jones.

Alias(s) – Killer Croc.

Age – 28.

Height – 7"5.

Weight – 686 Pounds.

Hair Colour – N/A.

Eye Colour – Red.

Powers:

\- Armoured Skin.

\- Claws.

\- Enhanced Senses.

\- Fangs.

\- Regeneration.

\- Superhuman Speed.

\- Superhuman Strength.

Data:

Strength – 20/40 (Enhanced Tier).

Speed – 15/40 (Enhanced Tier).

Durability – 18/40 (Enhanced Tier).

Endurance – 12/40 (Enhanced Tier).

Fighting Skills – 8/20.

Intelligence – 5/20.

(Unique Powers – 2/10).

Total – 78/200 (80/210).

-X-

Name – Alton Carver.

Alias(s) – Talon.

Age – 35.

Height – 6"3.

Weight – 195 Pounds.

Hair Colour – Black.

Eye Colour – Grey.

Powers:

N/A.

Data:

Strength – 10/40 (Human Tier).

Speed – 10/40 (Human Tier).

Durability – 10/40 (Human Tier).

Endurance – 10/40 (Human Tier).

Fighting Skills – 20/20.

Intelligence – 15/20.

(Unique Powers – 0/10).

Total – 75/200 (75/210).

-X-

Name – ?

Alias(s) – Talon.

Age – N/A.

Height – 5"8-6"2.

Weight – 95-120 Pounds.

Hair Colour – N/A.

Eye Colour – Grey.

Powers:

\- Immortality.

\- Regeneration.

Data:

Strength – 7/40 (Human Tier).

Speed – 7/40 (Human Tier).

Durability – 15/40 (Enhanced Tier).

Endurance – 20/40 (Enhanced Tier).

Fighting Skills – 15/20.

Intelligence – 5/20.

(Unique Powers – 1/10).

Total – 69/200 (70/210).

-X-

Name – Hal Jordan.

Alias(s) – Green Lantern.

Age – 33.

Height – 6"2.

Weight – 186.

Hair Colour – Brown.

Eye Colour – Brown.

Powers:

\- Energy Construct Creation.

\- Energy Projection.

\- Flight.

\- Superhuman Strength.

Data:

Strength – 25/40 (Superhuman Tier).

Speed – 25/40 (Superhuman Tier).

Durability – 25/40 (Superhuman Tier).

Endurance – 10/40 (Human Tier),

Fighting Skills – 15/20.

Intelligence – 10/20.

(Unique Powers – 9/10).

Total – 110/200 (119/210).

**There we have it, a pretty good look at how all these characters compare to one another and how far Naruto needs to go. **

**Rankings:**

**Before we begin, I would like to clarify how I've made my rankings. I have taken into account numerous other rankings from other people online as well as looking at the data profiles I have made on them. I also took into account their powers and the limits as well as who they've beaten and how convincing those fights. If, say Deadshot had beaten Batman and it was a very equal fight, but then later on Batman fights Deadshot and wins easily (I know this could be down to the simple difference in authors), however that will play a part in these rankings.**

**If the positioning of one of the characters doesn't agree with you then feel free to let me know why, but unless your extremely convincing and actually provide reasons beyond "you think" simply because he/she's your favourite character then this ranking does not change. **

**To clear up why, the universe in which my world takes place isn't in Earth-16 (the actual Young Justice world) nor is it in Earth-Prime, Earth-One, etc. This is my entirely own universe so if you don't like the ranking of my characters, then simply look at it as this, this is a different universe and out there your character could be number one even if there like, Green a whole multiverse and these rankings I have made are the ones for this universe, don't like then tough.**

**Now, onto the rankings:**

1\. Bruce Wayne/Batman.

2\. Hal Jordan Green Lantern.

3\. Alton Carver/Talon.

4\. Barbara Gordon/Batgirl.

5\. Waylon Jones/Killer Croc.

6\. Richard Grayson/Robin.

7\. Naruto Uzumaki/Black Hood.

8\. Undead Talons.

9\. Johnathan Crane/Scarecrow.

**So I'd like to clear something up, and that is the top three of this ranking list. First of all, let me say that these three positions were the hardest to choose simply because each character is interchangeable with one another. Batman lost to Talon because the Talon used a fighting style that exposed a weakness Batman didn't know he had. However, Batman has shown the ability to beat Lantern wielding fighters time and time again. In the Tower of Babel storyline, Batman's plans which exposed weaknesses of fellow League members was also used to to defeat practically every League member. As for Green Lantern, well he has an for everything the Talon can throw his way.**

**So I then had to look at it a different way, how well they could perform in a fight. Batman did the best, with his plans he has a very high chance of defeating Green Lantern and in a fight against Talon he has a decent chance of winning as well. Green Lantern did second best curb stomping Talon and struggling against Batman. As for Talon, well he only has a chance at beating Batman and that's it. **

**As a result, that's how I got my rankings, hope this cleared up any confusion over to the top three spots. Below is a ranking list that looks at all characters included in these two arcs so far.**

1\. Bruce Wayne/Batman.

2\. Hal Jordan Green Lantern.

3\. Alton Carver/Talon.

4\. Floyd Lawton/Deadshot.

5\. Barbara Gordon/Batgirl (Court of Owls Arc).

6\. Waylon Jones/Killer Croc.

7\. Richard Grayson/Robin (Court of Owls Arc).

8\. Basil Karlo/Clayface.

9\. Barbara Gordon/Batgirl (Black Mask Arc).

10\. Naruto Uzumaki/Black Hood (Court of Owls Arc).

11\. Richard Grayson/Robin (Black Mask Arc).

12\. Undead Talons.

13\. Roman Sionis/Black Mask.

14\. Naruto Uzumaki/Black Hood (Black Mask Arc).

15\. Johnathan Crane/Scarecrow.

**So there you are, Naruto's come pretty far from being fourteenth to tenth on the list and he's gonna keep climbing the list. Also, the reason I included two versions of Naruto's Barbara and Robin is because all three are improving throughout the course of this story and I wanted to show their improvements in relation to Naruto's as well. Whereas the others are pretty set in stone.**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed this and thank you again.**


	13. Chapter XI - Anonymous Gift

**Injustice: The Path to Hell.**

**Book 1: A New Beginning.**

**Chapter XI: Anonymous Gift**

"Normal Speech."

_'Normal Thought.'_

**"Demon Speech."**

**_'Demon Thought.'_**

_Location/Time_

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Tuesday 21st April, 08:00._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City, _

_East End._

Everything hurt.

Every movement made his muscles protest and his body scream in pain. Every breath was difficult and burned his lungs. Everything was in pain and with every step Naruto released a groan of pain.

Yet, pain was an old friend and in its own way, it served a purpose of reminding Naruto that he was alive. That against all odds, he had not only survived, but emerged victorious.

Soon after the Green Lantern – Naruto came to later know was called Hal Jordan – arrived, the undead Talon and the Talon himself had all being detained. Each of them we're currently being shipped off to Belle Reve. Well, the Talon was, the undead were being taken to an undisclosed location.

It appeared that they were connected to the Talon mentally which is why they followed his orders. When he had been knocked unconscious by Hal Jordan, the Talon had become silent. Naruto would not deny, he had been extremely wary when the Green Lantern had opened the door that had kept them locked away. But his worry had been for nought as they had been laid there, dead.

Or from a certain perspective, returned to their original state.

As a result, while Hal Jordan had worked quickly to free Batman from his position underneath the debris, he had then gone and taken the undead as far away as he could. It had been under Barbara instructions who had theorised that if they were connected mentally, then they might have to be within a certain range.

It was a good plan and while Naruto had stuck around to at least make sure nothing else went wrong, once he saw everything was okay, he left.

A quick phone call to the Black Hood supporter, David later and Naruto had gotten a taxi from Gotham to the East End. Alfred having given him a lift into Gotham city itself and dropping him off at an alleyway where Naruto had rested against the side of the wall.

The taxi driver appeared soon after, he too was a supporter of Black Hood and had been more than willing to give a lift to the hero he supported.

So, here he was, practically dragging himself along the corridor towards his room. The cuts littering his body had long since stopped bleeding, leaving most of his outfit stained with cuts. It was a shame really, the suit really was good and it was already ruined, but it was still better than his old outfit.

All it would take was a good clean.

The cuts in it were negligible and the suit would still provide far more protection than his old suit, that much Naruto was sure of.

Even so, the walk from the near broken lift to his room was usually short and easy. Now, it was a monstrous task. More than once Naruto had dropped to his knees and had to use the wall for support in order to help him get to his feet.

It was safe to say that he was in a worse condition than when he defeated Black Mask. But still, it was nowhere near as bad as when he had been beaten within an inch of his life by said crime lord. And so, no matter how many times Naruto's legs gave out from underneath him, Naruto rose to his feet once more.

Pushing open the door to his room, Naruto locked it behind him. There was no need to switch on the light in his apartment, light already streaming in from the window.

But that wasn't what caught Naruto's eyes. No, it was the innocent suitcase resting on his kitchen countertop that caught his eyes. Blinking, once and then twice, Naruto shook his head. "Fuck this shit! I'm too tired to deal with this right now, I'm going to bed." With that said, Naruto dragged himself to his room and uncaring of getting undressed or his dirty outfit, Naruto collapsed onto his bed and soon fell into a deep sleep.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Tuesday 21st April, 12:00._

_New Jersey, _

_Gotham City,_

_Wayne Manor._

Bruce Wayne was silent as he watched the news display the sight of the police raiding numerous bases belonging to the Court of Owls. He, as Batman had already given Jim Gordon the list of members belonging to the Court and all were arrested except for a few that had managed to escape the city.

Other than that, everything was going fine.

Even so, despite everything seemingly going well, he was still concerned. He had lost to the Talon, had been beaten when the city and his allies had counted on him the most. It was not the first time, he wasn't invincible, but he had always managed to come through in the end. It was only due to having managed to send out a distress signal to the League, that help came in time.

Though from what he had heard, the Talon had all but been beaten. It was certainly something to put his mind at ease, but either way, it didn't change the fact that he had lost and quite handily.

The last person that had done that to him was Bane when he managed to break his back. That was a painful memory and while the injuries he had sustained were nowhere near as severe, it was still another failure on his behalf. Something that Bruce did not like at all.

It did however, come with its good tidings as well.

In his fight against the Talon, Bruce had learned of a weakness he was not aware of. His entire fighting style was based around fighting groups of enemies and superpowered individuals. That did not mean he was helpless in one on one fights against skilled opponents, far from it. However, he did learn that against someone who like the Talon, had a fighting style directly opposite to his own he was at a distinct disadvantage.

Yet like always, Bruce would learn from this and become stronger as a result.

Thankfully, his injuries while severe, had mostly being healed. Well, the minor ones anyway. This was all down to the work of Zatara and his magics who had managed to heal most his superficial and help a little with his more severe injuries.

Even so, he would still be unable to properly move for another few days at the minimum. And it would take a week for him to be back in fighting condition, even longer for him to be back in full form.

It was time like these that he was envious of superpowered aliens like Superman. Injuries like his would be very difficult to attain for one as invulnerable like the Man of Steel, not to mention if he did, Superman would be healed within a matter of hours when exposed to sunlight.

Still, with the Green Lantern doing most of the clean-up and Bruce being forced to sit here unable to do anything but rest, it had left him with plenty of free time.

Free time he had used to find out what he could about the Talon or as he came to know him, Alton Carver.

There hadn't been much as according to the records, Alton Carver was legally considered to be dead. Having died in an accident around twenty years ago at aged seven in an acrobatics practise accident at Haly's Circus. A quick look further into Haly's Circus showed that a number of young, talented children had mysteriously died in terrible 'accidents.' Bruce was sure that this was where the Court of Owls recruited their Talons.

Though that left the question as to whether the head of the circus knew or if he was innocent in all of this?

"Well, I've done all I can downstairs." Hal said, stepping into the living room and Bruce nodded his head in thanks as he sat wrapped in bandages. "Gotta say, I was surprised you called. You're not usually the type, even when everything seems impossible for you to solve, you always managed to find a way."

"Someone opened my eyes to the truth." Bruce said gaining Hal's attention, more than intrigued as to what he meant. "We formed the Justice League to deal with threats too powerful and dangerous for one of us to face alone. Yet, outside of those threats we're back to how we were before the Justice League. We face criminals alone and avoid calling for help even when thousands of lives are at stake."

Bruce went quiet remembering how he hopeless he had felt when he had been left there. The Talon having beaten him and victory in his grasp and Bruce hadn't been able to stop him. It had made him feel like the same eight-year-old who had lost his parents in that alleyway.

"The world and our cities can't afford for us to be divided by our own pride." Bruce stated firmly, knowing that while he would always deal with a threat as best as he could alone. But like this time, if a threat was proving to be more elusive and a threat to all of Gotham, he wouldn't hesitate to call for help. "Being a hero is about sacrifice, I am more than willing to sacrifice my pride as a hero, if it means saving this city. That is why I called for help."

Hal was silent, temporarily speechless as he heard Batman of all people, say that he called for help because he was admitting that he couldn't win. He didn't phrase it like that, but previous events and the underlining meaning of what he said was clear.

And again, Hal found himself feeling a great deal of respect for the Batman. He sure as hell didn't like Bruce, he was too antisocial and just…off. He certainly wasn't a people person despite what his persona would have you believe and Bruce didn't make any effort to change that part of him.

But even then, Hal did respect Bruce for the bravery and determination it took to face off against the threats they had to on a near weekly basis and do so without fear. There were some guys out there that terrified him, a Green Lantern and yet, Batman, a human faced them, without an ounce of hesitation.

No matter how much you disliked him as a person, you couldn't help but respect him for that fact alone.

Nodding his head, Hal floated up into the air. "Alright Bats, but don't make this a habit." And with that, Hal flew into the sky with speed surpassing that of a jet. Yet despite his words, both knew that if the other required help, the other would be there to give it.

Feeling his phone vibrate, Bruce saw that the caller ID said Jim Gordon. He respected the Gotham City Police captain, not only because of his daughter, but because of Jim's character. He was one of the few cops in this city that hadn't been corrupt and had since, being a good ally and even friend of Batman.

Bruce had no doubts that Jim probably knew or had strong suspicions as to who Batman really was. The fact was, he never shared his findings with anyone was because he understood that Batman was more than a vigilante.

He was a symbol.

Batman was a figure of hope to the good people of Gotham and a symbol of fear to the criminals. An unbeatable figure of justice that would never fail in his task of bringing criminals to justice.

People still debated as to whether Batman was even human.

It was for that reason, Bruce respected Jim. He knew that Batman was a symbol and despite knowing or suspecting the person behind the mask, never revealed that information. Because he knew, that Batman needed to be more than just a man.

If the information that Batman was only a man with no powers was leaked, it would only embolden the criminals even further. Neither would allow that to stand.

Answering the phone, Bruce brought it to his ear. "Gordon." He greeted, the voice modulator on his phone making his voice sound deeper and similar to that of Batmans. "What seems to be the problem?"

"We have arrested everyone on that list except for a few of the wealthier ones." Jim informed and Bruce nodded his head, having already suspected this would happen, but it never hurt to have it confirmed. "However, it seems a few of the inmates at Arkham used this opportunity to escape." Bruce frowned at hearing that.

Criminals breaking out of Arkham was not unusual and spelt trouble later on. For the most part thy would lay low for a few days before making their move, which would at least give him more time to recover, but even then it was still worrying.

"But the main problem occurred when searching for the caches of Fearless Toxin, or one in particular." Jim continued.

"What do you mean?" Batman demanded, sitting more upright as his eyes narrowed in concern. The locations of the Fearless Toxin had been unknown and he had no doubt that maybe a few of the crime families may have attempted to find and take some for themselves. If that happened, chaos would begin again and this time, he would be out of commission for at least a week.

"I'll send you the image." A file came through and after opening it up on his phone, Batman clenched his fists tightly.

"I'll be in touch." Bruce responded and Jim didn't even argue, just remaining silent as Bruce hung up the phone. For a few moments he remained silent, his fists clenched and his form tense as he stared blankly at the wall in deep though.

Then he pulled up the image once more. _'What are you planning now?'_ He questioned as he looked at the image of the area where a cache of Fearless Toxin should be. The locations of them all being held in the Grandmasters home.

However, in the place of the Fearless Toxin was a Joker card.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Tuesday 21st April, 21:00._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_East End._

Groaning, Naruto lifted his head up from his pillow and looked around his dark room through bleary eyes. At which point his head once again collapsed against his pillow, trying to get back to sleep but the aching sensation throughout his body made that very difficult.

After a few more minutes of his fruitless endeavour to fall back asleep, Naruto eventually decided that it would be best to get out of bed and get something to eat. And so, he, dragged himself out of bed and took one look at himself. _'I think a shower would do me best right now.' _He thought and headed to his bathroom and turned on the shower.

As the room slowly began to steam over, Naruto slowly stripped out of his outfit. The simple act proving to be more difficult than he would have imagined or liked it to have been.

Eventually he did so and stepped into the shower and released a groan as the warm water washed over his body. The dried blood still stubbornly resisting the waters attempts to wash it away, but Naruto was content to just stand on the warm water for a few minutes.

_'I really need to get stronger.'_ He thought as he put all his effort into standing up on shaking legs. His body despite the rest he had taken was still battered and exhausted. The simple act of standing in the shower was proving to be more difficult than it should be, but it was certainly an improvement from his state earlier this morning. _'Then again, I certainly did much better last night than I would have done if I had faced the Talon with same level of skill I had when fighting Deadshot.'_

Thank god for small mercies then because Naruto had known doubt that if he and the Talon had fought then, he would have been killed quite easily. Even then, Naruto had no doubt that he would have lost if it wasn't for the Talon playing with him.

The trained assassin had, in a moment of mental weakness, allowed himself to be ruled by emotions and that helped Naruto greatly.

If he had come at Naruto with the same ferocity and calculative mindset that he had against Batman, then Naruto was under no illusions that he would have died in a matter of seconds. Then again, at the end of the day, a win was a win.

That was what the Talon had told him.

Whether it was through the enemy already being weakened, underestimating you or simply a matter of pure luck. A win was still a win.

Feeling the water start to gradually become colder, Naruto began to clean himself in earnest. And after a few quick minutes of cleaning himself of last night's blood, sweat and grime, Naruto stepped out of the shower as clean as he could be.

Sighing, Naruto stepped into his bedroom naked as he dried his hair with a towel and made his way towards a dresser.

Pulling on a pair of a boxers and some basic jogging pants, Naruto stepped into his kitchen to see the briefcase once again, waiting for him. _'So that wasn't a dream?' _He wondered before shaking his head in annoyance. _'I'm getting really sick and tired of this shit.'_

Moving forwards, Naruto picked up the briefcase and carried it over to the small, two-person kitchen table and placed it there. Then he turned around and began to fix himself a bowl of cereal and a cup of coffee before sitting down.

For a few minutes he just sat there staring at the briefcase while eating his breakfast…tea?

Eventually, despite his annoyance, Naruto's curiosity won out and after finishing the last mouthful of his cereal, Naruto pushed the bowl to one side and pulled the briefcase towards him. A quick look over the side for any nasty surprises, something he had learned to do after one of Black Mask's lieutenants had the idea to place traps on any container. The explosive had caught Naruto by surprise and it was only because there was only a small number of explosives that saved Naruto from being killed.

It certainly didn't stop him from being impaled by a particularly nasty splinter, more like a huge ass stake. If he was a vampire – the fact that he had already fought zombie ninjas, Naruto wouldn't be too surprised if Vampires were real as well - he'd have certainly been fucked.

Then again, if the piece of wood had just been a few inches of the left and up, he would have died anyway. Human or vampire, a stake through the heart kills a human just as easily a vampire.

After checking the briefcase for no nasty hidden surprises, Naruto clicked upon the locks and lifted the lid to see the contents. There wasn't much, just a syringe filled with some sort of murky white liquid, two Glock 17s and two very well-forged military knives. Each in far better conditions than his own equipment.

Last night he had gone in a little under-equipped.

His ammunition stolen from Black Mask was all but drained, and his knives had been badly blunted in their various fights. Not to mention rusted, he hadn't taken very good care of them and he didn't even know how to either.

Still while the guns, fully loaded and with a few spare clips would certainly be helpful and the knives would be as well, it was the syringe that both interested and worried Naruto the most. It was the simple fact that Naruto had no clue what it was. It could be anything from poison to a miracle cure or anything like that.

That's when he heard a phone ring.

Standing up, wincing slightly at how his muscles screamed at the quick motion, Naruto made his way towards the phone. He switched it on to see that there was no caller ID and reluctantly answered it.

"Hello?" He questioned unsurely.

_"Hello, Naruto."_ The unknown man on the other end answered back in turn. _"I see you've finally decided to open my gift. Do you like it?"_

"Wha-Who are you?" Naruto demanded as he looked out the window to see if anyone was looking in. But no matter how hard he looked; he couldn't find anyone.

_"Oh, I wouldn't bother looking out the window, I'm too far away for you to see me." _The mysterious man on the other end of the line said, his voice coloured with amusement. _"Besides, who I am and where I am currently, isn't that important. What is important, is whether you like my gift or not. Well, do you?"_

Naruto remained silent, ignoring the voice and instead continuing to scan the nearby buildings for any sign of a anyone looking in his direction.

_"I guess I should have expected you to ignore me, you never have been one to listen easily. Especially to those who you don't know or respect." _The figure sighed. _"Well, I guess I can answer your first question._"

This got Naruto's attention who stopped looking at the surrounding buildings.

_"I see I have your attention now."_ The man chuckled. _"My name right now, is something you'll have to figure out yourself. But I go by a code name, much like Black Hood is yours. You can call me Deathstroke, but don't confuse me for a hero. I am a mercenary."_

"And let me guess, you want to make me a mercenary?" Naruto asked dryly. "Much like how Batman wanted to make me a hero like him and the Talon wanted to make me a trained assassin. Am I right?"

There was silence for a few moments. _"Yes, in fact I do. Though I think you're underestimating what a mercenary can do in this world."_

"Oh, then do enlighten me." Naruto snarked, not in the mood to deal with 'Deathstroke.' He honestly didn't care who this guy was, he was tired, sore and extremely annoyed with people constantly breaking into his apartment and giving him 'gifts' out of the 'goodness' of their hearts.

_"Well it's quite simple. You get exposed to the truly corrupt side of the world. You want to change the world, yes? Then as a mercenary you'll be hired by politicians, government officials, military personnel and other influential people all wanting their rivals eliminated._" That caught Naruto's attention. _"I have enough information and secrets that with a few phone calls I could plunge entire countries into civil war and cause entire governments to collapse. You want to change the world? Then you'll need information like that to bring about the changes you want."_

"What makes you think I want to change the world?"

The man chuckled lightly._ "It's quite obvious really. You want to make the world a safer place for those you care about. Where those people you hold dear never have to be exposed to danger again. You even considered joining the Talon knowing that he could very well succeed in making Gotham safer until you realised that he was every bit as corrupt as those you were trying to stop. You want to create a world safe for Barbara and Jim Gordon and that means changing the world as it is. What else could that be?"_

Naruto didn't know how to respond and instead remained silent.

_"If you want to change the world, then you'll make enemies. A lot of them."_ Deathstroke explained. _"You can drastically reduce that number with the information you gather as a mercenary. Not to mention with my training and the help of the serum, you can fight on par with the likes of Batman."_

"And what exactly is the serum?" Naruto asked curiously as he raised the syringe into the air.

_"A enhancement serum."_ Deathstroke stated. _"It will improve your mental capacity allowing you to think up to nine times faster than the average person. Enhance your reflexes, speed, stamina, strength, agility, senses, durability and even provide you with a mild regenerative ability. Certainty more than capable of getting rid of all those little wounds of yours."_

Naruto looked at the serum in a new light and was extremely tempted to take it.

_"Ah, I see."_ Deathstroke said as if knowing the conundrum Naruto faced. _"You are very stubborn, Naruto. To refuse such a gift because you don't trust me, smart. But ultimately will make things that much more difficult for you in the future."_

Placing the syringe back in the briefcase. "Then I'll accept that." Naruto stated firmly, determined to survive and change the world even if he was just a human.

_"Very well, let's see how far you can go before you eventually admit defeat."_ Then Deathstroke hung up leaving Naruto holding the phone to his ear as his eyes stared at the serum with determination.

"I can do this." Naruto said determinedly. "I don't need help."

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Tuesday 21st April, 21:30._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City, _

_East End._

Stood on the roof of an apartment building, one Slade Wilson known as Deathstroke lowered his sniper rifle. He, having used the scope to study Naruto and as he did so, Slade released a sigh of disappointment.

He had of course expected Naruto to refuse, he was far too stubborn to accept outright. And besides, Slade knew that if anyone set out to change the world despite being powerless, Naruto would probably be able to do it. He didn't need great powers or great fighting skill, so long as he had the determination to stand up where others would stay down, it would make changes.

Only small ones, but changes none the less.

However, if Naruto wanted to change the world in order to make it a safer place for those he cared about, he would need power.

Power to go up against the best and the worst that the world to offer. More power and skill in order to not only survive those fights, but to also make a statement. As he was, Naruto wouldn't be able to make those bigger changes and the young man knew that. He was just too stubborn to accept power outright.

_'Unless, he's presented with an obstacle that he can't overcome without help.'_ The Court of Owls and the Talon had forced Naruto to accept help from Batman and his sidekicks in order to overcome an obstacle he was, as of yet, incapable of defeating alone.

A quick call later to his closest ally and manservant, Wintergreen and the location of the very individual who would help him in the coming days. The very same person that would prove to be an obstacle to great for Naruto to overcome alone. And there was no better time to do it than now.

He had seen the Green Lantern flying through Gotham and knew that the only possible reason that the Green Lantern would be in Gotham in such a crisis would be if there was a bigger crisis or if Batman was in need of help. Considering there had been no mention of another world crisis that meant it was the latter. And from Slade's past experiences facing Batman, the only time he would call for help outside of his sidekicks, would be if he is too injured to face the threat alone.

That meant Batman was out of commission and that left only the two sidekicks, if they weren't injured themselves.

Therefore, with Batman out of commission, it meant Gotham was under the protection of Naruto and Batman's sidekicks. A perfect time to force Naruto into facing threats beyond his ability to deal with, without Batman interfering.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Thursday 23rd April, 17:00._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_East End._

The next few days had been relatively peaceful for Naruto, albeit boring. Most of it consisted of Naruto just lounging at his apartment and letting his body heal while pretending that the conversation that had taken place two days prior had never happened.

It worked pretty well.

Sure, it was still boring. Before becoming Black Hood, Naruto had always enjoyed just lounging and resting in his apartment, preferably with Barbara. But that was his teenage hormones coming into play there. Now, all he wanted to do was go out and be Black Hood.

It was hard to believe that a few weeks ago, Naruto had considered retiring from the life as a vigilante, and now? All he wanted to do was go out and be Black Hood.

It would certainly make forgetting about Barbara easier.

They hadn't spoken to one another since and Naruto certainly wasn't going to reach out to her. The sting of the secret and the magnitude of said secret still hurt, even then he knew why she kept it secret and partly agreed with her. Despite all that though, it still didn't make him feel any better.

As a result, Naruto had just done what Barbara was doing and something they both did when presented with a problem they didn't nor couldn't face, ignored it all together. It wasn't healthy and was probably a reason for why Naruto was so miserable.

Jim definitely didn't help by trying to invite Naruto around for tea.

He understood that something had gone on between his godson and daughter. In his own way he was trying to help, he understood how important their friendship was for one another and was trying to help. But neither was willing to face the other, not while things were still awkward between them.

As a result, it left Naruto here alone and watching the news play out.

It was the only thing that interested him on TV anymore.

He had tried getting back into his old shows and even tried to catch up with some his favourite TV series' that had a few new episodes. However, he just couldn't find it within him to care about them anymore.

Whatever interest he had in them once, was gone and now Naruto found his days of resting and recuperation that much duller. The only thing of interest being the news and even then, that was both repetitive and dull. It was only when news presenter were talking about recent superhero and villain activity throughout the world that things actually got interesting.

Even then, it wasn't saying much.

Everyday news had declined once superheroes took to the stage and since then, all people cared about was what the heroes were doing. What villain they had faced? Who the heroes were? Were they a threat? Not to mention the various conspiracist theories that aired as well. They had been entertaining at first, but much like everything, it got repetitive.

Now the news had once again begun to start decline.

People still tuned in when heroes and villains fought to see clips of the fight mostly as well as to see what the effect of said fight was. Some, in the case of a Superman could be very destructive, even with the Man of a Steel attempting to mitigate damage.

So, while the news did help to elevate some boredom, it certainly wasn't enough for Naruto's liking.

As a result, Naruto sat on his couch, an empty beer bottle in one hand as his head lulled back and his eyelids slowly closed. Yawning, Naruto ignored the TV and let his eyes fully close about to catch up on some sleep when one news reporter mentioned the name, "Gotham."

Much like all news pertaining to Gotham, Naruto listened intently. Most of it had been focused on the Court of Owls, the Fearless Toxin and the Arkham Breakout that had happened in the hour that the Talon had been attempting to defeat Batman.

"In other news, Gotham city has been dealing with a number of murder cases." Jerking awake, Naruto looked at the screen blearily, the empty beer bottle dropping to the ground with a clank that temporarily drew Naruto's attention. "Each victim has been found half eaten and police state that there may be more and a number of those people having gone missing in the past two days have been presumed dead at the hands of the same killer."

Rubbing his eyes, Naruto looked at the screen as the relatively beautiful, mature anchor-woman then indicated towards a photo of a blurred figure. He was tall, bigger than any man with a body rippling with large muscles. Beside it, a picture of Killer Croc appeared.

"Police believe that the person behind these murders is none other than Waylon Jones, also known as Killer Croc. Police urge anyone with information upon the whereabouts of Killer Croc to come forward." Switching off the TV Naruto leaned back with a groan, his fingers slowly running his temple in a soothing gesture.

_'Seriously, this city can't go five minutes without one killer deciding to rear their head can it?'_ He questioned internally and stood up as he made his way towards his bedroom. Lifting up a few floorboards, Naruto pulled out his Black Mask costume, including the gloves from the Talon as well as the suit from Batman. Despite the numerous cuts in it, Naruto certainly wouldn't go back to Batman to get it fixed and it still worked better than his old suit. _'Maybe if it gets into really bad condition, I might ask him to sort me a new one out. He certainly seems to like helping me, even if it's for his own agenda.'_

Then his eyes turned to the briefcase sticking out from behind his dresser.

Pulling it out, Naruto flipped open the lid and pulled out the two Glock 17s and the military knives. As he did so, Naruto distinctly ignored the serum laying there innocently and instead put the briefcase back where he got it from.

Giving his shoulders a roll and stretching off his still sore and recovering body, Naruto headed straight out. He may still be injured and recovering from his fight against the Talon, but Naruto certainly wasn't going to let Killer Croc or Waylon Jones run around Gotham unchecked.

Not while he was still breathing.

Black Hood still existed and the criminals of Gotham needed to be reminded of why he was to be feared.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Thursday 23rd April, 22:00._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_East End._

The East End of Gotham was as lively as ever.

While the much posher and less criminally infested areas of Gotham had practically gone dead what with the reveal of the cannibalistic criminal, Killer Croc being on the loose. The East End functioned relatively normally.

Most were too high or looking to get high to care about the possibility of being eaten by a humanoid-crocodile with superhuman strength. As a result, it made Naruto's search a bit harder. Sure, on paper it should be pretty easy to find a man-eating humanoid crocodile the size of a truck. But in reality, it was much harder.

He had of course, considered going into the sewers but Naruto had quickly scratched that off his list. Yes, he was looking to find and fight against the Killer Croc to bring an end to his rampage across Gotham once and for all, but he wasn't suicidal.

It was a choice between a possibility of surviving and winning or being lunch. He quite liked the former even if the odds were slim.

So, he had waited patiently, using the rooftops to search for any signs of Killer Croc, but there had been none.

Which was strange considering the East End in its current state was practically an all you can eat buffet human edition. Not to mention, Killer Croc had been focused in the East End, so finding him shouldn't be this difficult.

Except it was.

_'It's times like these that I wish I was at least pretending to work with Batman, his technology would certainly be helpful when looking for Killer Croc.'_ He bemoaned mentally, especially considering he had to rely on the Black Hood supporters for any information. They were certainly determined and there was quite a large number of them, but it had some large limitations that really stopped him from being able to match Batman in the information collection department.

Feeling his phone vibrate, Naruto pressed answer and raised it to his ear. _"Hello Naruto, I see that you could use some help." _Deathstroke spoke on the other end.

"No." Naruto replied, quickly hanging up and continuing to look around. That's when his phone vibrated once more.

He ignored the vibration and instead let it go to the answering machine. However, after another four times Naruto eventually relented and picked up the phone. "What? I already told you that I don't want your help."

_"Oh, I know." _If Deathstroke was annoyed at being ignored, he certainly didn't show it. His voice calm and collected giving nothing away. _"However, I wonder if you'll be saying the same thing when you attempt to save the families a few blocks north from here. Seems a certain Killer Croc has decided to have a meal."_

Freezing, Naruto looked north and without hesitation took off while hanging up the phone once more. If Deathstroke called him to offer help then it was obvious he at least had Naruto in his sights. On any normal day he would be looking to find then confront Deathstroke, but right now, other things required his attention.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Thursday 23rd April, 22:10._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City, _

_East End._

Naruto had moved quickly, using the apartment buildings in order to avoid the bustling streets below in order to get to Killer Crocs location. It wasn't overly difficult, there was already a trail of half-eaten bodies on the ground.

Bodies that people avoided and some even ignored entirely as if it was an already thing for them.

Eventually however, he came to the area of the East End were apartment buildings turned into small houses. It was also much cleaner and less crime ridden as a result of bordering on Gotham Heights. This meant it gained a bit more attention from the police compared to the rest of the East End.

Scaling down the apartment using his claws to control his descent, Naruto started jogging down the street. There were already a few houses that had doors broken down and Naruto could also make out a few bloodstains on the window as well.

_'He's getting bolder.'_ Naruto thought aware of the fact that Killer Croc had killed and eaten more people tonight than he had done previously. _'It's because Batman hasn't come to stop him. If Killer Croc can see this then I reckon more of the crime lords will as well.'_ Knowing that if Killer Croc wasn't stopped soon it would only cause more problems, Naruto pushed himself to move even faster.

Eventually he heard the sound of a commotion coming from one of the houses and moved forwards cautiously. The blinds were closed and the lights were off which left the house shrouded in shadow.

But as Naruto approached the front door that was currently open, dented from where a large fist hit it and hanging off a single hinge, Naruto noticed a shadowed figure moving around the house. As soon as the shadowed figure came into view, Naruto rushed to hide behind the wall in order to not be seen.

Letting a few seconds pass by, Naruto peaked around the corner to see that the figure was gone from view._'It's best to not go through here.'_ Naruto thought knowing that Killer Croc was already downstairs and instead began scaling the side of the house.

Lifting open the window to what looked like a child's bedroom, Naruto stepped inside and looked around cautiously. It was a generic bedroom for a boy, with spaceships and loads of toys scattered around the room, toys he had to carefully avoid as he tiptoed across the room to the door.

However, just as he was about to open the door, he heard some shuffling and spun around, one of the Glock 17s at his side raised and ready to shot. Only to freeze when his eyes landed on the figure of that of a terrified young boy no older than seven or eight hidden under the bed.

Seeing this, Naruto released a sigh and lowered his gun, once again placing it back in the holster at his hip. "Hey, it's okay." Naruto raised his hands up in order to show that he meant no harm and it seemed to at least calm the terrified kid a little. "I'm here to help."

The kid didn't say anything, only hiding further under the bed when Naruto moved towards him. Seeing this, Naruto stopped and instead after a moment of consideration pulled back his hood and mask to reveal his face.

"Look, I'm just like you." Again, Naruto moved forwards and this time the kid didn't move. "My names Naruto, what's your name?" Naruto asked, trying to help but the kid at ease.

It worked as the kid moved forwards, not coming out of the bed. "Jason." He whispered quietly and Naruto smiled.

"Jason? That's a cool name, better than mine. I think my mum named me after her favourite type of ramen topping." Naruto joked and while not fully understanding, Jason smiled. That's when they heard the sound of movement downstairs and Jason once again scurried further back beneath his bed.

Seeing this, Naruto reached out with one hand having removed the glove in order to make it safer. "Jason, I need you to be brave and to trust me. Can you do that?" He asked and after a few moments of hesitation, Jason nodded his head and took Naruto's hand. "Okay, I'm going to get you out of here, follow me." He led Jason to the window and helped Jason climb out.

Turning back to the door, Naruto strained his hearing for any sound or sign of movement.

There was none.

"Okay, are you any good at climbing." Jason nodded his head and Naruto smiled at seeing the kid's enthusiasm. "That's good. Right, when you hear gun shots, I want you to climb down and run as fast as you can. Are there any neighbours that you know and trust?" Jason took a few moments to consider before eventually nodding his head. "Do you know where they live?" Another nod. "Do they live down that way?" He pointed in the direction of where a number of houses had been broken into and Jason shook his head.

Nodding his head, Naruto released a sigh of relief. "That's good. I want you to run there as fast as you can and don't stop at all. Can you do that?" Again, Jason nodded his head and Naruto smiled ruffling the kid's hair as he did so. "You're braver than me then." He said and Jason smiled lightly. "Okay, remember, run when you hear gunfire, run as fast as you can and do not stop. For anything." Naruto stressed that last part before heading to the door.

"Thank you." A small voice whispered and Naruto looked back to Jason to see that while terrified, he was giving a grateful smile to Naruto.

Returning the smile, Naruto gave a wave. "Don't mention it." Pulling open the door, Naruto made his way through the corridor, taking note of a number of photos showing the sight of three to be quite happy. There were even a few photos of the two parents performing acrobatics in a circus.

As he turned a corner and started making his way downstairs, Naruto stopped against the wall and pulled out his pistols, preparing himself for facing against Killer Croc.

Yet, despite that mental preparation, it didn't get rid of the nerves that were making him jittery. The fight coming would be different than the one against the Talon. It wouldn't be a matter of skill, but a matter of brute force strength.

He would need to be fast and light on his feet if he wanted to come out of here alive.

So, as he moved the down the steps, slowly and quietly, he strained his hearing in order to pick up the sound of movement. He could hear some footsteps and what seemed to be slithering, yet it seemed to be a bit further away.

When he reached the bottom the staircase, Naruto pressed his back against the wall and looked around to see if he could find Killer Croc and noticed him feasting upon the bodies of Jason's parents.

Clenching his fists in anger, Naruto moved quietly across the room to hid behind another, making sure to stick to the shadows as he did so.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto raised both guns in preparation to fire and quickly spun round and fired at the crouched figure of Killer Croc. The bullet bounced harmlessly off the creatures armoured skin and clattered to the ground and upon seeing this, Naruto quickly stopped firing.

Pocketing his guns, knowing they would be useless and instead pulled out his two knives and tensed his body. At the same time, the Killer Croc menacingly turned around and snarled at Naruto.

"You! You're not Batman?" It questioned, almost sounding insulted, but Naruto ignored it. Instead his attention was focused on trying to see if Jason had remembered his instructions or if he had frozen up, while at the same time keeping his eyes on Killer Croc.

"Yea, what's it to you?" Naruto questioned.

Waylon Jones studied Naruto closed before huffing, flexing his claws dangerously as his salvaging mouth opened to reveal rows of sharp fangs. "I'll eat you anyway!" It roared only to stop when a shadow dropped down outside and began running.

Both Naruto and Killer Croc looked to see that it was Jason running down the street. Smirking beneath his mask, Naruto turned to face Killer Croc and rushed forwards intent on using this opportunity to gain an advantage. Only for it to fail miserably when his knives scrapped against the scaly body of Killer Croc harmlessly.

Jumping away, Naruto barely avoided the claws that came within inches of cutting his face open. _'Stupid! Bullets bounced off this guy! What good was a knife going to do?'_ Despite cursing himself for his stupidity, Naruto never once stopped moving.

Waylon Jones didn't allow him that privilege.

It was a dangerous game of cat and mouse as Naruto moved around the room using his small size and greater agility to avoid every swipe and slash from Killer Croc with a mere hair's breadth between them. It was certainly more than Naruto had expected when forced on the defensive having hoped to finish the fight as quickly as possible as to avoid getting drawn into a long fight with a villain with super strength. But in this situation, he had to do what he could and he was certainly doing better than he expected.

That all changed when his injuries started flaring. Muscles that hadn't quite fully healed from his fight against the Talon acted up, flaring with pain and making quick movements difficult. Not impossible, but they certainly slowed him down enough for Killer Croc to actually land a blow.

The punch came fast, just like every movement Killer Croc, faster than a person that big had any right to be.

As a result, Naruto tried to evade only to realise that he wouldn't be capable and tried to raise his arms up in order to block. He had already jumped backwards and so the blow shouldn't deal that much damage and his arms were far enough away that when he brought them closer to his body in order to absorb the force of the blow it should once again, reduce the damage he felt.

In most cases this would be true.

In fact, Naruto would have been able to take this blow and be perfectly capable of continuing the fight if it was against a normal person. However, this wasn't a normal person.

This was a superpower individual with the body of a humanoid crocodile and so, the blow struck with enough force to pick Naruto clean off his feet and launch him from one wall and out of the other into the back garden of the small house.

Rolling across the ground, Naruto came to a stop as he laid there, his eyes blurry and his head ringing. "Fuck!" He groaned out and went to push himself to his feet only for his right arm to be incapable of supporting his weight and looked to see that the broken bone was sticking out of the skin.

That was when the pain kicked in and Naruto once again collapsed to the ground as his vision blurred.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see the hole in which he had been thrown through and from it he could make out the figure of Killer Croc menacingly making his way towards him. _'Shit! I can't win this! Fuck!'_Growling reached Naruto's ears and he looked to see Waylon Jones making his way across the garden. Each large foot causing the muddy ground to sink underneath the creatures large weight.

Unable to move properly, Naruto could do nothing as Killer Croc wrapped one of its big hands around Naruto's neck and picked him up off the ground. "I'm going to eat you now." Killer Croc told Naruto simply only for him to tense up when something collided against his head.

Naruto blinked when Killer Croc did the same.

Together the two looked, Killer Croc turning his head while Naruto looked out of the corner of his eye. Both looked to see Jason stood there a stone in his right hand while still clad in his pyjamas, shivering. Whether it was fear or from the cold neither knew, but it didn't stop the young child from standing their bravely. "Let him go!"

"Jas-argh!" Naruto choked out as Killer Croc squeezed on his neck and Naruto saw his vision start to darken, the air supply to his lungs getting cut off. _'Dammit, I told you to run. Fuck! I'm going to pass out.' _Yet despite his predicament, Naruto was more concerned about Jason who had bravely, albeit stupidly come back to save him.

That's when another stone hit Waylon in his face and it actually hit him in the eye causing the humanoid creature to jerk sharply. This in turn resulted in his grip loosening on Naruto's neck.

Feeling air rush into his lungs, Naruto did the only thing he could do. Went for the one weakness he knew Killer Croc had. The claws on his gloves flashed dangerously in the moonlight as they cut through the air and stabbed straight into Waylon Jones eye.

Reflexively, Killer Croc threw Naruto away were he once again went straight through the wall of the house forming a new hole. All the while Killer Croc roared out in pain clutching at his injured eye.

Naruto meanwhile ignored the pain his body, adrenaline once agin beginning to pump through his blood and helped to elevate some of the pain. But above all else, his desire to ensure that Jason got out of here alive drove Naruto to get to his feet as quickly as possible.

"Naruto!" Jason cried out rushing into the house and without a thought, Naruto picked up Jason with his none broken arm and ran. He could hear Killer Croc still roaring in pain and new it wouldn't be long before he came after them and so, Naruto ran as fast as his injured body would allow.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Friday 24th April, 00:00._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_East End._

Pushing open the door to his apartment, Naruto directed Jason in and after locking it behind him, looked around for his first aid kit. Pulling open a few cupboards, he eventually found it and placed it on the kitchen countertop and looked down at the bone, wincing at the sight. He couldn't feel it anymore, the arm having gone numb which was certainly a positive.

Feeling eyes on him, Naruto looked down to see Jason shaking as he looked at the bone with a mixture of disgust and awe in a way only a young child could. Knowing that what was going to come wasn't a sight for Jason, Naruto instead decided to get Jason settled down.

"Jason." Naruto spoke up gaining the kids attention. "It's late, let's get you to bed, okay?" Jason hesitated but eventually relented with his nod of his head, silently allowing Naurto to direct him towards his bedroom.

Cleaning his bed of some of the rubbish, Naruto almost felt embarrassed and as if he was being judged for the mess of his room by a kid. But he brushed it off and instead let Jason clamber onto the bed.

"Are you mad?" Jason asked quietly and Naruto went still before turning to look at Jason.

"Look, I'm not going to say what you did was smart. You risked your life and did exactly what I told you not to." Naruto said and Jason remained silent even if he looked like he wanted to argue. "But I will admit you helped me." Naruto admitted with a smile that Jason returned. "So, yea, thank you. I guess you were my hero tonight."

Jason smiled once more and Naruto stood up from the bed and out of the corner of his eyes, Naruto caught the sight of the briefcase given to him by Deathstroke. His eyes then looked down at his arm.

_'I got my ass kicked and I'll be out for a good couple of weeks if not longer.'_ Naruto thought as he began making his way towards the briefcase. _'Fuck it, I can't keep on being stubborn especially seen as though I nearly got Jason killed. I was too weak and had to run and even then, I'm lucky that I managed to get both myself and Jason out of there in time.'_

Moving forwards, Naruto picked up the briefcase and left the room sparing one glance at Jason who seemed to be unusually still. Knowing that the kid was pretending to be a sleep, Naruto shook his head and closed the door behind him.

**A/N: So, yea, Naruto fought Killer Croc and got his ass kicked, but that was because he was still injured. You might forget that Naruto is still human at this point and suffers from the same limitations of a human. As a result, he was still injured when fighting Killer Croc and didn't have the necessary equipment to beat Killer Croc. However, that was a reason and now Naruto is forced to stop being stubborn and accepting Slade's gift.**

**Now a few people have asked me through PMs what Naruto's rogue gallery is going to look like. Right now, this is what it's like:**

**Roman Sionis (Black Mask) – Deceased.**

**False Face Society – Inactive.**

**Floyd Lawton (Deadshot) – Active.**

**Alton Carver (Talon) – Incarcerated.**

**The Court of Owls – Inactive.**

**It's pretty small for now, but it will get much bigger. Guys like Deadshot will have a difficult relationship with Naruto, whereas one moment they're allies and the next their enemies. Most will be like Black Mask, dead with their little gangs and goons inactive. However, there will be guys like Alton Carver who will be a constant enemy to Naruto like the Joker is for Batman, and Lex Luthor for Superman. Now, this doesn't mean Naruto won't kill him, in fact Naruto will be trying his hardest to ensure that Alton Carver is and stays dead. **

**But Alton Carver will be too skilled, illusive and cunning to be put in that situation and will always have an escape plan. So, don't worry, while its small right now, it will grow much larger and filled with a bunch of dangerous individuals. However, I would just like to let you know I already have this on my profile as well as a brief summary of each chapter so far.**

**Anyway, let's get onto the questions:**

**Wrath of the Sun Deity: One of the Corps will have a hand in Naruto's power development, yes. But that's a bit further on down the line.**

**RandoFox: I admit, I did plan to have them get together at the end of the Court of Owls arc, but I was talking with one of my mates who is also a fan of FanFic and we both agreed that the reveal of who Naruto and Barbara are to one another and the secrets kept, would make having a relationship a little forced and doomed to fail. They need to first get other the secrets between them and fix their friendship before they can have a proper relationship. But don't worry, that will happen in the Young Justice Season 1.**

**Guest: Oh, believe me, Naruto is going to be so pissed when it happens and the Joker is going to be very, very dead. **

**Jason Hunter: Yes I didn't want to just have this as a story where only Naruto develops as a character, but also those around him. I wanted Naruto's appearance to not only influence changes in the story, but change people around him if only a little bit.**

**RedDragonRaven: Teen Titans vs Justice League/Judas Contract appearance, though you can also go for her Injustice 2 appearance. I'm not overly fussed how you envision my characters appearance, it's why I'm pretty vague in my descriptions of them. It allows you as the reader to choose which appearance you like best.**

**As for Naruto's Berserker mode, when he loses control that is the best way to envision how Naruto will act. But eventually, he will be able to gain full control over himself and no longer be driven into a berserker like state when using the same amount of power as he grows stronger. If that makes sense.**

**OgFrosty: I have then outlined up to the first few episodes of Young Justice season 2 with four additional chapters ready to go and a fifth on the way. So believe me, plenty more to go with me taking breaks to work on other stories and further plan out other arcs of this story.**

**uchihaNaruto247: Oh yea, characters whether you like them or not, especially of the originals generation will die. Shit is going to get very real and I can't wait to write it either. As for Talon knowing Batman's identity, don't worry, that will be dealt with later on. And as of right now, Naruto is actually capable of fighting Barbara and Robin one-on-one and actually having a chance of winning. Which goes to show how quickly he has developed, its just right now his caliber of opponent doesn't let me show that properly without intentionally making characters weaker. And I don't want to do that.**

**Yohnos: Yes, as you can see from this chapter, Zatara helped heal most of Batman's injuries except some of the major ones. And yes, this chapter has been leading up to Naruto getting his first set of powers and while they won't make Naruto OP, they will certainly give him a distinct advantage against individuals like Batgirl and Robin.**

**nlichristou: Oh yes, absolutely. Jason will have a role though he will eventually become Red Hood, but I do have plans for a Black Hood and Red Hood team up later on down the line. In fact, in my universe Jason choose the name Red Hood as he took inspiration from Naruto. Who is actually one of Jason's main heroes that he looks up to, more so than Batman. Don't expect much from him in the way of Robin though, Jason's character as I go into detail while either be as a child or as Red Hood. Though I will include some scenes of him as Robin, but it will mainly be just him as Red Hood.**

**WalkerFRD: That's probably true, but at the end of the day, it's canon. Batman has defeated Lantern Corp members and whether that's purely to please fanboys doesn't matter. I am trying to make Batman a little more realistic in terms of capabilities and weaknesses, but I won't be completely diverging from canon. As a result, the fact Batman can defeat Lantern Corp members is canon and I'm including it.**

**Haa: Don't know what you mean, this was put in place to clear up any confusion on your understanding of the characters stats as well as showing you a clear ranking system that shows how Naruto stacks in comparison to the rest of DC. This way no one gets confused as to how powerful Naruto is. And you don't have to read it, you can skip it if you want but I put a poll up and this format was chosen, no need to be insulting.**

**Ficeater96: The reason some people appear twice like Naruto, Robin and Batgirl is because the second ranking shows all the characters included in the story so far. It also shows how characters have developed and where they were ranked originally and how they rank now. Naruto's not the only one getting stronger, other characters like Batgirl and Robin are also growing stronger and that second list allows you to see that development. **

**So in the second list you have Naruto from the Black Mask Arc and Naruto from the Court of Owls Arc. In terms of power their completely different and therefore I put both versions of Naruto in to show you how far he's come. It's the same with Batgirl and Robin.**

**IPosioNI: Yes, Naruto's rage will be something Naruto battles with constantly throughout the course of this series so he will be a bit of rage monster like the Hulk. Though I don't plan to give him a Green Lantern Ring, you can probably guess which Ring I plan to give him.**

**Lrmccr7: Yes, Naruto's intelligence is that low mostly because Intelligence is classified in three ways: general intelligence, deductive reasoning and tactics. Right now, Naruto's going to need to improve all of those. And this is because Naruto never really applied himself when it came to school. His tactical knowledge is high, but his deductive and general intelligence which is smaller drag the other all number down. Mainly the general intelligence.**

**Guest: There's no point hiding the fact because most have already figured it out by now, but yes. I do plan on giving him a Red Lantern ring eventually. **

**Sultan Asil Arslan: Naruto will be joining the YJ team and will be a founding member of a new team of young heroes after the world goes to shit. Whether he's going to be the leader is still undecided, but he will be one of the higher ups either way.**

**Guest: To be honest, I liked how Naruto and Killer Frosts 'relationship' started. It was two young and attractive people deciding to have sex, much like a one night stand. That's all there was to it, was it out of the blue, yes. But I'm in university right now and Wednesday is student nights out where every local pub and nightclub has a discount and I've had. Few one night stands where I've met a girl who I didn't even know and talked to them for maybe a few minutes and the next thing I know I'm going to theirs or they're coming to mine. **

**Yes, Talia al Ghul and Poison Ivy will make an appearance, kind of have to considering who they are. Though their relationship with Naruto won't be sexual, or at least I don't plan for it to be that way. **

**Naruto and Cheshire will be enemies turned allies eventually. There won't be any sexual or romantic feelings considering I liked the relationship between Cheshire and Clone Roy. So that's staying.**


	14. Chapter XII - Crocodile Hunting

**Injustice: The Path to Hell.**

**Book 1: A Journeys Beginning.**

**Chapter XII – Crocodile Hunting**

"Normal Speech."

_'Normal Thought.'_

**"Demon Speech."**

**_'Demon Thought.'_**

_Location/Time_

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Friday 24th April, 18:00._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_Gotham Heights._

Barbara remained silent as she listened to the young man across from her recount the tale of how he led his team to victory against their rival football team. To be completely honest she didn't even know why she was still here. It wasn't like she was incapable of making up a convincing lie in order to leave and do something productive with her day.

Not that she had much to do anyway.

Ever since the Talon had been defeated, she had spent the rest of her time recovering. Luckily, she wasn't in as bad of a shape as Bruce or Dick, but she was still recovering. Which meant that right now, she was the only thing between Gotham and all its criminal entities.

_'Oh, and Naruto.' _A traitorous part of her brain reminded her of her childhood friend. For the past three days they had both avoided talking and seeing one another. Well, Naruto had been the one to start ignoring her and she had followed suit. _'Which, now that I think about it, is why I'm here in the first place.' _She thought and looked at the guy across from her.

He was good-looking, high-cheek bones, coal black eyes and well-kept black hair. His clothes were designer, not that it wasn't surprising, he was from a rich family after all.

His name was Tom, Tom White, Captain of Gotham Academy Football team and a complete asshole. It was safe to say that Tom fit into the stereotypical view of a jock and he did nothing to dissuade people of that thought. He was also one of the many guys who wanted to have the honour of having sex with her and seemed to believe that badmouthing and bullying Naruto would have worked.

It hadn't, but then that beggared the question as to why she was even here with him at a small restaurant at what was basically, a date.

The answer was simple.

A selfish and irrationally angry part of her had decided that the best way to get back at Naruto for ignoring her, was to go on a date with one of the guys that bullied him. It was a an asshole and completely petty move and she knew it, but right at the time she didn't care.

All she cared about now was how bored she was and how she wanted to throttle Bruce.

Her father always kept her in the dark about crimes that took place in Gotham. Before she became Batgirl, the only way in which she gained information on the darker side of Gotham was when it was showed on the news, and even then it was heavily censored by the media. Yet, Bruce had decided keep her in the dark on Killer Croc's activities.

"Barbara, you okay?" Tom asked and Barbara turned to face him having looked out the window in thought. She would almost think he was concerned if she didn't know him better. Tom was the type of guy that would act like the nice guy as long as it got him what he wanted, in this case it was her. "You've been staring out the window for the past five minutes. Though I guess it must be boring to hear me talk about football constantly."

"Sorry." She wasn't really, but Barbara wasn't going to be petty and a bitch anymore, look where it had gotten her already. "It's just, I've got a lot on my mind."

He smiled reassuringly and reached across the table to take her hand, only for Barbara or pull away. This in turn caused him to frown before he replaced it with a comforting smile once more.

"Alright, I mean it's getting late." He pointed out and Barbara nodded her head in agreement. "How about I walk you home, it's not far from here, is it?" Barbara shook her head and went to deny it, but before she could he called over the waiter to pay for the bill.

Sighing, Barbara once again looked out the window with a frown on her face. She doubted that Tom would leave her alone until she got home and even then, she had a suspicion that he would ask to come in. She'd refuse of course, but she would rather avoid making things too awkward. Tom, on top of everything else, was also the type to spread nasty and baseless rumours about girls who dumped him when they found out how much of an asshole he really was.

She didn't care what other people thought of her, but she would rather not deal with the rumours. It was times like these she was envious of Naruto, she could brush off people's comments and even ignore them, but as much as she tried to deny it, she was still affected by what people said. Naruto on the other hand, he'd just take it all and with a smile on his face.

_'Unless they're about me.'_ She remembered and despite herself, a smile appeared on her face. Yes, it was safe to say that Naruto could be extremely protective of her.

"Shall we?" Looking up, Barbara saw Tom stood up waiting and with a nod, Barbara rose smoothing out her plain skirt and grabbing hold of her purse. The two stepped out onto the street and started walking down the street.

They walked in silence for a bit as they drew closer to Barbara's home. It was the first thing she was glad about for today, Tom had decided to pick a place closer to home that was expensive enough to impress, but not overly expensive. For most girls this might have worked, but for Barbara it only bored her.

"So, I had fun today." Tom eventually broke the silence that fallen between them and Barbara turned to look at him out of the corner of her eye. "Would you be up to, I don't know, doing this again sometime?" He asked nervously.

Barbara would almost find it amusing that Tom of all people was nervous about being rejected, especially seen as though he was the type used to getting what he wanted. Sadly, this hadn't worked for him today and Barbara had not intention of actually dating Tom. Today had been a momentary lapse in judgement, a mistake and one she would not repeat.

"I'm sorry." Barbara apologised and the way his hopeful look turned to a frown, he knew what Barbara was going to say and didn't like it. "But I'm not really looking for a relationship right now." She said as they came up to her house. '_At least not with you.'_

Coming to a stop at her front door, she turned to face Tom who still had a frown on his face.

"Thank you for today, it had been fun." It really hadn't, but Barbara wasn't going to be unnecessarily cruel. She'd rather he think she had fun, even if he didn't deserve it. "I'll see you later." Barbara said, knowing that she would avoid him as much as possible incase he came to the wrong conclusion.

Barbara then turned to her door and went to unlock it.

"Wait!" Tom cried out a she reached forward, taking hold of Barbara's arm.

"Tom, let go." She said firmly, her voice calm despite being annoyed. "I said I'm not interested."

"Come on, Barbara." Tom continued, ignoring what she said entirely. "You must have felt something or why else would you have gone out with me today?" He asked his voice attempting to sound charming and only coming out as smarmy and pushy. "Just one more date and I promise that I'll leave you alone if you say no. Just one more date?"

Barbara shook her head and Tom narrowed his eyes in anger. "I said no, Tom. This isn't happening again." Barbara replied angrily, showing that Tom's pushing was getting to her. "And for your information, the only reason I accepted this 'date' was because I was annoyed at someone else."

Was it a little rude and possibly out of her character to admit to him being a rebound? Yes. But did Barbara care at this point? Not in the slightest. Her nerves and patience had been wearing thin for the past few days, what with Naruto ignoring her existence, her dad pushing to get her and Naruto to talk once more and just being kept out of the loop by Bruce. It was safe to say that Barbara was getting more and more irritated with each passing day.

Tom just happened to be the unlucky individual caught on the receiving end of it all.

"So you're saying I'm a rebound?" Tom asked angrily his hand having released her hand in order to clench his fists down at his sides.

"Of a sorts." Barbara cooly responded. "I don't know what you expected. You're an asshole Tom, an asshole that pretends to be a nice guy. You only want me because of how I look and once you had sex with me you would have tossed me to the side. I'd have been another one of your conquests. So leave Tom."

"No." He replied angrily. "I don't think I will."

"Oh, I beg to differ." Both Barbara and Tom looked to see Jim Gordon walking up the path to his house, a plastic bag in one hand and Tom paled slightly. There were very few people who didn't know about her adoptive father and the reputation he had gained. "Run along now, before I decide to shoot you." There were very few things that could cause Jim to threaten to shoot someone, especially seen as though he was a model police officer. Someone accosting his niece/daughter was definitely one of them.

"Y-you can't do that! Y-you're a policeman." Tom stuttered out as he moved away from Jim, the police captain himself walking up to stand in front of his daughter.

"If you truly believe that, then by all means, continue to do so. Now leave." Tom looked between Jim and Barbara and with a huff rushed out of the front garden while attempting to regain some of his bravado.

"Thanks." Barbara whispered as she unlocked the door, stepping inside she took off her shoes and move to the living room where she collapsed on the sofa with a sigh.

"You're welcome." Jim called as he entered the kitchen to get the takeaway he had ordered ready. "Is Chinese okay?" Barbara gave a sound of agreement as she switched on the TV and flicked through the channels until she got to the news.

A few minutes later, Jim entered with a plate held out towards. Barbara tore her gaze from the sight of a reporter interviewing a witness of last nights massacre in the East End. Letting Barbara take the plate, Jim sat down on a comfortable armchair and looked to the TV.

Neither talked about the incident that had just happened, they didn't need to. Both were aware of what had happened and with it already having been resolved, nothing more would come of it. Even if something did, Jim was well aware that Barbara was capable of dealing with it.

"You know, it was quite interesting today." Jim spoke up gaining Barbara's attention who had been unusually quiet for the past few days. "Naruto came to the station with a young child, Jason Todd." Jim explained and Barbara listened intently and it pleased Jim to see that while she and Naruto were having a fight, she still cared for him. "Apparently, Naruto had been walking through the neighbourhood of the massacre and found Jason running down the street in just his pyjamas."

"Did he?" Barbara asked curiously, though internally she knew exactly what Naruto had been doing in that neighbourhood and cursed him for his stupidity. She was still recovering from her injuries and she was in better shape than Naruto. Yet, despite that he still went to face Killer Croc. "Was he okay?"

"He was fine." Jim said putting Barbara at ease. "Turns out he's got himself a new job at a gym, says that it pays good. Don't know if that's true, but he certainly looks like he's been working out a great deal recently."

"So he didn't get injured?" Barbara asked and Jim shook his head.

"No, Naruto looked to be perfectly healthy. There was nothing wrong with him, which fits with his story. He found Jason running who had ran from his house while Waylon Jones, was…" He trailed off not finishing that sentence. "Anyway, he found Jason and took the long way round to his apartment completely avoiding Killer Croc. Let Jason sleep at his house and then brought him to the police station this morning. Poor kid needed it, he may try and act fine, but he seems traumatised by it."

Barbara was certainly happy to hear that Naruto wasn't injured and even more so that he had helped a kid, not that she doubted he would. Naruto was an orphan himself and she doubted he'd leave a kid on his own as he ran through the streets. _'I doubt Naruto avoided Waylon though.'_

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Friday 24th April, 22:30._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_East End._

The night passed away relatively quickly after that, Barbara and Jim just content to spend what rare time they had together as comfortably as possible. Due to his job as a police captain, Jim had a lot of responsibilities, more so than most due to his sense of duty which drove to him do more than would be expected of him.

Barbara on the other hand was a teenage girl in High school and as far as Jim was aware, was spending her time amongst friends. In actual fact, she was out fighting crime and making Gotham a safer place.

Thus, the time they had to spend in one another's company was small.

In most cases, this would drive a wedge between most people. But for Barbara and Jim, it only brought them closer.

Even so, despite being so close there was a great deal of secrets between them. Barbara hiding her identity as Batgirl and Jim keeping the truth of how corrupt and cruel Gotham could be from Barbara as best as he could.

"Goodnight, dad." Barbara called as she closed the door. She waited until she heard her dad returning it and then the sound of his door closing before pulling out her phone. Quickly she scrolled through her contacts before landing on the one she wanted.

It dialled and Barbara impatiently tapped her foot on the ground. "This is Wayne Manor, may I know who is speaking?" The cultured voice of Alfred Pennyworth sounded on the other end.

"Alfred, it's me." She replied.

"Ah, miss Gordon, what can I do for you?" He asked.

"Is Bruce there?"

"Just one moment." There was silence as Alfred presumably went to find Bruce and Barbara remained silent as she stared out the window. To be completely honest, she didn't know what she was going to do or say. Bruce would have known about Naruto fighting Killer Croc and would have known about Killer Croc in general.

She hadn't, Bruce had knowingly kept her in the dark about one of the most dangerous supervillains in Gotham being on the lose. There was a possibility that he would say he didn't know about it and she wouldn't buy it if that was his excuse. Bruce knew, his technology gave him access to a great deal of surveillance all over the city, he probably knew about Killer Croc being on the lose before he even started feasting.

Yet, he hadn't told her. Instead, she had to find out through the news and only got more information thanks to her dad. And now she learned that Naruto had gone out to fight Killer Croc while still injured.

The fact that her dad said he was fine and looked of be in perfect health didn't put her at ease. Naruto was very good at pretending, it was what made his pranks so good as he could pretend like nothing happened or was going to happen while waiting or watching as his prank unfolded before his very eyes. Only she had known because she helped him set up said pranks and it was always her who gave away that they were behind said pranks.

It was a constant source of teasing.

But that wasn't the point, Naruto was very good at pretending and he could no doubt convince even her dad that he was fine when he was actually the exact opposite. Only she and his mum had really been able to tell when he was pretending and yet Kushina never ratted on him because she was usually right alongside him when it came to causing mischief.

A smile came onto her face at the memory of Kushina who had always being like a mother to her. _'I wonder what you think of me and Naruto becoming what we are? Would you be proud? Supportive? Disappointed?' _Barbara asked the image of Naruto's beautiful mother.

"Barbara, what is it?" The gruff voice of Bruce sounded on the other end in a way that would almost be considered rude, if Barbara didn't know that this was how Bruce always talked.

Hearing his voice reminded Barbara of why she was calling in the first lace and her anger returned full force. "You didn't tell me." She didn't shout, no her voice was controlled and quiet. "You didn't tell me!" Okay, maybe not completely in control as she said that part a little louder than she meant to.

Quickly she strained her hearing but she couldn't hear any noise form her fathers room, which meant he hadn't heard. Or he was probably going to keep his nose out of it. Either way, Barbara took a deep breath as to centre herself.

From that fact that Bruce was remaining silent on the other end, Barbara knew that he had already figured out what this call was about.

"Why?" She asked, more hurt by the idea that Bruce didn't trust her to stop Killer Croc. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because you are too emotional." His answer was blunt and straight to point, just like she expected. It didn't mean she was prepared for it and as a result flinched. "The situation between you and Naruto has caused you to lose focus, you're compromised emotionally and that would have affected your ability to make the correct decisions. That and your injuries would have meant you being in the same situation as me and Robin." 

Bruce never gave her time to reply as he finished his explanations and even then, she still didn't feel happy. She knew what he was saying, the situation between her and Naruto had made her a little less patient and more rash. Which in a fight was not a good thing, just look at Naruto, he tended to jump into a fight with the bare minimum of information and even when the odds looked bad, didn't pull back and continued to push forwards.

He was improving, but still not quick enough.

However, he could be excused due to his inexperience.

She could not.

She had been trained by Batman to keep calm and look at the situation with a level head. Against Killer Croc, she would need just that. Despite his decrease in intelligence due to his mutation, he was extremely strong and all it would take was one lucky blow to end the fight. With her injuries avoiding his strikes even with a level head would be difficult, but with out one? It was near suicidal.

And if that happened, she'd either be dead, or too injured to fight. Therefore, Gotham City would be under the protection of Black Hood only and while improving, Naruto wasn't quite at a level strong enough to shoulder that responsibility alone, even if he thought that he could.

Sighing, Barbara nodded her head even thought Bruce couldn't see it. "Alright, I'm not happy that you kept me in the dark, but I accept what you're saying." Barbara conceded. "But that doesn't mean you still shouldn't have told me, if you had explained of me why I couldn't go I would have listened."

There was silence once more. "Very well." Bruce responded and then cut the connection.

With a sigh, Barbara placed her phone down on her desk and collapsed onto her bed.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Saturday 25th April, 16:00._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_Sewers._

Moving cautiously, Naruto wandered through the sewers beneath Gotham. His eyes tracked the area around him as his body remained relaxed. Ever since his last fight against Killer Croc, Naruto had quickly realised how outmatched he was.

He didn't have the training of Batman or his sidekicks, nor did he have the technology to bridge the gap between superpowered individuals like they did. No, he was forced to fight against opponents far beyond his level with nothing but his bare hands and a few guns. Not really helpful against an individual with skin that bullets bounced off harmlessly.

He had being lucky that Jason had managed to throw a stone into Killer Crocs eye, a weak point Naruto hadn't considered or even known about. The jerking revealed to Naruto a weak point that he used to barely escape.

Then he returned to his apartment, injured and with a traumatised boy who was still in shock and hadn't quite come to terms with what had happened last night. Luckily for Naruto, the boy was still recovering from his shock the next morning as it meant Naruto didn't have to try and comfort a young boy. An orphan he might have been, but he wasn't quite comfortable with providing comfort for other orphans, especially a recent one like Jason.

So while the kid slept – or attempted to – he took the serum and promptly passed out. He should have expected it really, the serum provided a regenerative ability and there was nothing quite so painful as broken bones forcibly resetting.

The next morning he awoke feeling greater than ever before.

It was difficult to describe. He wasn't smarter, he was just able to see things from a different way. He could hear the cars outside as if he was there on the sidewalk as they drove by, he could smell the weed and other…substances that his neighbours used. He could see things with greater detail, see the tiniest cracks in the ceiling that he hadn't quite spotted before and these weren't big cracks, no they were hairline cracks that should be unnoticeable.

Every one of his senses had been enhanced to a greater extent to the point it had almost been overwhelming.

Then came the physical changes.

With his body being enhanced as well as his mind and senses, it took Naruto a little time to actually gain some measure of control. Seriously, he had nearly walked straight into a wall when he moved faster than he had ever done before and accidental crushed the ceramic mug in his hand when going to pick it up

Jason had been asleep for another few hours, giving Naruto the time to gain some measure of control over his body. It wasn't perfect, but he at least had a basic handle over his bodies new changes.

Once dropping off Jason at the police station and delivering a partly faux story on what happened the night before and how he met Jason to Jim, Naruto returned home. At which point he spent the day training and one thing Naruto quickly found was that Deathstroke or whoever he really was, wasn't kidding about how useful the serum could be.

Naruto had measured his speed by running along the rooftops and had managed to nearly outrun a car, though he was held back by having to jump from building to building. This in most cases shouldn't have been a problem, but when he couldn't control how much force he put into each jump, it caused him to jump higher and therefore, take longer to descend.

And in terms of strength, he hadn't quite being able to test that out. Going to the gym was out of the question because if his improvement in strength was proportional to his increase in speed, then he would attract far too much attention.

As a result, Naruto had focused on at least gaining some measure of control over his strength by limiting the amount of force he used when jumping. It helped for the most part, but how much still remained to be seen.

Though one good thing did come out of this and that was the increase in his stamina. For the most part, Naruto would have been able to train at a constant rate for a good hour or two before needing to rest and that was at a high intensity. Yet, after two hours he still felt fresh and wasn't even sweating, let alone breathing heavy.

And he had continued for another two hours only to finally start to pant. He would have continued but he had become hungry.

Either way, Naruto was pleased with how things had turned out and almost regretted being stubborn in his refusal to take the serum when it was first presented to him. But it was too late for regret, what was done, was done.

He needed to focus on the here and now.

And that meant, finishing Killer Croc once and for all.

That's why he found himself here in the sewers. Naruto had originally deemed coming into Killer Croc's home for a lack of better term, was suicidal. However, thanks to his enhanced intellect he had been able to see some of the pros that he had refused to see or simply ignored in favour of trying a different approach.

The sewers were Killer Croc's preferred hiding spot and therefore, all one needed to do was walk for long enough in them before they eventually found the cannibalistic criminal. That was where the problems began as it was only a two way system and it would require one being able to outrun Killer Croc.

Considering that Naruto had seen the creatures speed first hand, he knew that would be easier said than done.

As a result, he had spent an hour studying the maps of Gotham's sewers both old and new – considering this would have once taken him days, it certainly made his life easier – and began to form a plan. It wasn't a very good plan, unless one took Naruto's other options into consideration. Since there was none, it meant that this plan was the only plan viable to end Killer Croc as quickly as possible.

Which was why he was in the sewers making no effort to keep his presence quiet or hidden. His feet sent echoing splashes down the tunnels of the sewers as his eyes kept a lookout down the tunnel in front of him while his ears were straining to hear every minuscule sound. Most of it was the sound of cars and the ideal chatter of people above him, but he could also hear the sound of rats moving around the sewer and other creatures.

_'Hmm, this doesn't seem to be making any sense. I've nearly covered all of the sewers under the East End, so where is he?'_ Naruto questioned as he continued to search for Killer Croc. He hadn't been quiet, so it didn't make sense for Killer Croc to not have found him. _'Perhaps a little more sound might be best.'_

With that thought, Naruto raised his right hand to that the claws on his gloves touched the wall to his side, and then continued to walk. The sound of the metallic claws on the edge of his gloves sent a reverberating scrapping sound echoing throughout the sewers.

Being so close to the sound caused Naruto to wince as he wasn't quite used to his enhanced senses. _'I'll definitely have to sort that problem out. Right now this serum while be a definite help, but it does come with its limitations.'_ One such limitation being the time it took to actually get used to and master his body and senses to the same level as before. Whereas it had been instinctual, now Naruto had to carefully think about each movement and how much strength he put in each movement. It was not debilitating, but it was certainly a pain to deal with.

A few minutes later and Naruto managed to pick up the sound of something large moving. It was a simple step, but it caused Naruto to a stop as he so used his senses upon that one sound.

***Thud***

Again Naruto picked up the sound as he slowly shifted his footing.

***Thud* *Thud* *Thud***

More and more footsteps were heard as simple steps turned into fast movements. In the darkness of the sewer, it would have been impossible for Naruto to make out he sight of the shadowed figure bursting around the corner. He would have only been able to see the figure when he was almost upon him and within the narrowed corridor, it would be all but impossible to avoid it in time.

This was why he had wanted to avoid coming into the sewer.

The narrowed structure of the sewer, plus the size and impressive speed of Killer Croc would have made it near impossible to come out alive. That was even if he was at full health.

However, Naruto was better than before and thanks to his improved eyesight, managed to pick out the sight of Killer Croc as he burst round the bend, his claws digging into the wall to stop him from sliding further down.

Naruto didn't even freeze, his body moved seamlessly and with practised movements, unholstered his pistols and fired.

The bullets wouldn't do any damage and so he only fired a few, but they weren't meant to do anything.

Except draw Killer Croc's attention.

"You!" Waylon growled before with a roar charged towards Naruto.

Crouching his body down, Naruto tensed the muscles in his leg and burst towards Killer Croc with speed even greater than he had ever felt before. The only reason he was able to actually keep up with the speeds he was moving at was due to his mind which had been boosted to absorb information nine times more effectively than a normal person.

His eyes flickered across the sides of the sewers as he and Killer Croc drew closer and closer.

With another roar, Killer Croc thrust his head forwards and his mouth opened showing jagged teeth covered in saliva. However, Naruto had already moved as he dropped to the floor, skidding threw the murky waters of the sewers between Killer Croc's legs and out the other side.

Quickly rising to his feet Naruto continued to rush down the sewers as Killer Croc turned around and gave chase. Even with a head start and his enhanced speed, Killer Croc was still closing that gap between them.

But that's what Naruto had expected and wanted.

Hearing Killer Croc drawing closer and closer, Naruto waited until just the right moment and leaped to one side, his feet pushing off the side of the wall and jumped up higher, his claws digging into roof as he pulled his body up till he laid flat against the roof. Killer Croc who had leaned down to bite Naruto once again went straight past.

Naruto used this to his advantage and while dropping to the ground pulled out one of the few grenades he had managed to 'acquire' from a few unsavoury individuals who would no longer be dealing in weapons for a very long time, Naruto had made sure of that and threw it at Killer Croc

As soon as it came into contact with Killer Croc's armoured skin, it exploded filling the sewer with a thick cloud of smoke and Naruto could make out the sight of the Killer Croc stood there. His armoured skin lightly singed, but nothing major.

_'So grenades can cause him damage, that's good.'_ Naruto thought as he continued to rush through the sewers, using the temporary dazed state of Killer Croc to his advantage.

It wasn't forever, he could already here the sound of Waylon walking out of the smoke followed by a roar of anger that echoed throughout the sewer. But it was too late, Naruto was already drawing closer to one of the exits leading to the surface. And it was in one of the few sewers that was close to his desired location to fight Killer Croc.

While he had studied the various maps on Gotham's sewers, memorising as much of it as he could, he had also gone out and looked at a number of abandoned areas which would be a good place to fight Killer Croc. There were very few that were good, most had poor stability and were too damaged. The last thing he wanted was for the ground beneath his feet to give way and give Killer Croc a chance to finish him off.

He had eventually found three locations and the exit he was closing in on was near the second location, an abandoned warehouse right on the outskirts of the East End.

Moving quickly, Naruto reached the ladder and climbed up quickly, actually he jumped missing out a large number of steps and with barely any effort pushed the drain above him up and leaving the entrance to the surface open to him. But he didn't take it and instead waited for a few seconds as Killed Croc neared him.

Naruto didn't know if he could see the light shining down or if he knew what that meant, but Naruto wasn't going to take any chances and pulled out one gun.

Just as Killer Croc first appeared in his eyesight, Naruto fired and the bullet bounced off Waylon's head causing him to freeze. Then with a growl he looked up to see Naruto giving him a wave before climbing out onto the surface.

A car horn attracted Naruto's attention as he turned to see a car driving towards him and reflexively jumped into the air. The car passed by beneath, but as the car was nearly done driving by beneath him, it seemed to rise up into the air. As a result, Naruto placed one foot on the top of the car and pushed off just a little so that he could wrap one hand on a nearby street lamp and swung himself round so that he landed on it in a crouch.

Looking down, Naruto saw that the ground was cracking and raised and knew that it meant one thing. That's when the car flipped through the air and Killer Croc burst from the ground with a roar before he looked around in search of his food.

Smirking beneath his mask, Naruto jumped off the street lamp and descended towards Killer Croc who slowly turned to see Naruto coming towards him. It was too late and with a shout, Naruto swung his left fist round and slammed it into Killer Croc's jaw. The force behind it aided by gravity whipped Waylon's head to one side as Naruto rolled across the ground.

Even so, Naruto found his hand throbbing slightly before his healing factor kicked in and dealt with the aching.

_'So while I'm certainly stronger, it appears I'm not strong enough to cause him any harm.'_ Naruto noted because while his punch moved Killer Croc's head to a side, it didn't do any damage.

Clicking his teeth in annoyance, the blonde quickly leaped backwards as Waylon gave chase. His clawed hands swinging around in an attempt to cut Naruto to pieces while said young boy avoided each attack with a hairsbreadth.

_'Hmm, he certainly has training.'_Naruto deduced as he leaned his head back just enough to let Killer Croc's claws to cut through the area his head once inhabited. _'But not enough!'_ Bracing his left hand on the ground, Naruto swung his right leg round into Killer Croc's incoming strike. It didn't do loads, but it certainly knocked it to one side enough to avoid hitting Naruto.

As soon as his foot struck Killer Croc's hand, it bounced off the armoured skin. Something Naruto counted on and used this momentum to swing back round and pushed off his left hand to put some greater distance between him and his opponent.

Yet Killer Croc didn't let up and came after Naruto much like he had in their previous fight.

However, Naruto was more than ready for this as he calmly avoided each strike sent his way. He wasn't as fast nor as strong as Killer Croc, but he was certainly more flexible and his reflexes were better. As a result, he avoided each strike sent his way with the barest movement. It was risky, especially with his limited control over his bodies increased strength and speed. But as the fight progressed, Naruto found it getting easier and easier.

Ridding himself of those thoughts for now, Naruto focused on his current opponent and waited until just the right moment and as soon as Killer Croc overextended on one of his strikes, jumped up. With one foot he landed on Killer Croc's hand and when Waylon brought his arm down and went to bite at Naruto, said boy used his left foot to push off Waylon's forehead.

Spinning slowly, Naruto dug the claws on his left hand into the metal walls of the warehouse and braced his feet against the wall.

"What's wrong, Waylon?" Naruto taunted as he leaned against the wall and looked at Killer Croc over his shoulder. "Didn't you say something like you were going to eat me last time?" Killer Croc grunted in response and reached down picking up a slab of concrete that had been laying on the ground when he burst up from the ground, and threw it at Naruto as hard as he could.

Due to the strength he possessed, Killer Croc was able to throw a slab of concrete that would weight around half a ton give or take a hundred pounds with such force that appeared as nothing but a blur.

To Naruto, his eyes managed to pick up the sight of the concrete moving. In the space of a few seconds Naruto had already considered every option available to him and came up with only one viable option.

First, he could simply stop holding the wall and drop to the ground. It was a smart choice, unless one took into the account that Killer Croc was already running that way. Either Waylon was smart enough to at least plan this, or it was pure luck. No matter what the answer was, Naruto couldn't do that.

Second option, was a matter of jumping off the wall. However, a fight in the open was dangerous especially with a few people that had been walking the streets, cowering in fear. Luckily this was the outskirts of the East End so there was only a handful of people who had been at the wrong place at the wrong time. Either way, Naruto wanted to avoid fighting in the open as to not get anyone hurt

That left only option three, getting inside and fight Killer Croc there, which was exactly what Naruto wanted.

With his two feet braced against the wall, Naruto pushed upwards while removing the claws from the wall. He jumped in the air and reached for a broken windowsill and gripped hold of it tightly. His muscles tensed as he pulled himself in, his feet breaking the glass.

Naruto made sure to keep hold of the ledge even when he entered the inside of the building as the part of the wall where he had once being burst open and the slab of concrete burst through. It continued further and caused a large explosion of dust and smoke as it collided with a number of abandoned and empty wooden boxes.

Releasing a breath, Naruto waited a few seconds before releasing his hold on the wall and let his feet roll against the wall, from the heel to the ball and pushed off. His body fell through the air at great speeds as he plummeted head first and that's when Killer Croc charged inside as he knocked the door off it hinges.

Smirking, Naruto tucked his knees into his chest while swinging his arms down to give that little extra momentum as he flipped so that he did a full one-eighty.

Killer Croc didn't even have a chance to dodge, let alone block Naruto's double footed stomp that struck his temple with enough force that the sound echoed. As Killer Croc fell face first into the ground, Naruto fell as well and rolled across the ground. His right hand digging into the ground and carving deep groves into the ground as he spun to face Waylon who was still face first in the ground.

_'Not yet.'_ As Killer Croc shook his head and slowly started pushing himself to his feet, Naruto let the claws on his right hand flash dangerously. _'Now!' _Then he charged forwards once more and quickly covered the distance between him and Waylon in a second, the criminal only having gotten to his knees before Naruto's hand flashed through the air and dug deep into his eyes, including his newly healed one.

With a roar, Killer Croc swung his left hand round in order to backhand Naruto, only for Naruto to flip over the arm and as soon as he landed in front of the supervillain, spun on his heel and lashed out with a spinning back kick. The blow whipped Killer Croc's head to one side giving Naruto the perfect opportunity to end this fight quickly.

Jumping up, he landed on Killer Croc's shoulders and while in midair, reached into his pocket. Swinging his arm down, Naruto chucked the contents of his right hand into Killer Croc's still open mouth and then leaped away.

Landing in a crouch, Naruto slowly rose to his feet letting the two pins in his hand drop to the ground. The sound of it reverberating throughout the silent warehouse as Waylon had gone silent upon forcibly swallowing two objects when they were shoved to the back of his throat. It had been a reflexive movement and he had been unable to stop himself and so swallowed the two objects that were placed there.

That's when an explosion ripped through the air causing Naruto to wince as he closed his eye due to the amount of blood and gore that splattered against his clothing. After a few seconds, Naruto slowly opened his eyes to see that all that remained of Killer Croc was his legs and a little of his lower torso. The rest was all gone, his upper body spread throughout the entirety of the warehouse.

Sighing, Naruto looked down at himself and then walked out of the warehouse.

As he soon as he stepped out he picked up the sight of those same people that had been here when the fighting, still here and hiding. "You know, you could have run." He pointed out causing those closest to him to freeze and upon seeing this began walking across the road to a nearby alley.

All the while he was watched from a distance. The man, Slade Wilson felt his lips twitch up in a smile as he watched Naruto begin running along the rooftops as he followed him with his sniper rifle.

"Well done, Naruto." He muttered as his sniper rifle turned back to where Naruto had killed Killer Croc to see that those that had been hiding were cautiously looking inside. "Well done indeed." He had expected Naruto to win of course, but not so handily. _'I guess I underestimated you, I won't make the same mistake a second time.'_

He was actually looking forward to training Naruto, the boy had potential, so much of it.

The only problem was how stubborn he was.

One couldn't just force Naruto to do something. The more one pushed the harder he he would push back and he would push back. There was no doubt about that and he would so violently.

No, to convince Naruto it would require patience and finding just the right moment.

But the time would come eventually.

**A/N: So, Naruto has killed Killer Croc and Deathstroke is waiting for the right moment to convince Naruto to join him. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter, I wanted to show how good Naruto is and as a result, you get Naruto's first big win in the big leagues. **

**Now, allow me to impart some information on Naruto's current limits. Right now, he can run at speeds ranging from 40-50mph and can bench around a ton at his max. Now those numbers will increase as Deathstroke has been clocked at around 110-115mph and depending on the author could lift anywhere between 1-5 tons. So yea, even with his increased strength and speed, Naruto still needs to train his body to be able to match Deathstroke in terms of strength and speed. **

**So yea, still a ways to go but he's got his first batch of powers now and there's more to come as we move onto the main section of this arc. However, this should show that Naruto is stronger than you think, it's just in the firs few arcs his caliber of opponents have being really high. I mean the achievements of Deadshot, Robin, Batgirl, Talon and Batman speak for themselves. I couldn't have a relative newbie come along and beat them without intentionally nerfing their characters. And I'm not going to do that for the sake of making Naruto appear stronger than he actually is.**

**This is as close to a realistic version of DC and Naruto crossover while also taking into account the ridiculous scales of power in the DC. So Naruto like I said still has a long way to go before he's even considered one of the upper echelons of the DC universe and for those of you saying that canon Naruto would be capable of that at this age.**

**I say to you that you have no idea how powerful some of the DC characters are. Seriously, I was like you when I started this fic thinking that canon Naruto would be one of the strongest characters in the DC universe. Turns out that he's not even in the top 10 or in the top 50. Naruto's feats are no joke and some of the things he done are ridiculously powerful. But at the same time, some of the things some DC characters have done are just insane. And I'm not taking about pre-crisis, I'm talking about post-crisis DC and while they did get nerfed quite a bit, even then it's enough that they could completely destroy Naruto.**

**I mean the Green Lanterns have shown the ability to travel from one edge of the universe to the other in a matter of hours. That means they're travelling at hundreds of thousands of times the speed of light. The fucking Green Lanterns! Naruto has shown no feat of speed on the same level, he's fast maybe a couple of times the speed of light at a push. But he's not matching the Green Lanterns in speed and you just have to realise that compared to some of the other members of the League, the Green Lanterns might as well be canon fodder. **

**Canon Naruto in the context of the Narutoverse is overpowered, but in DC, he's just powerful. He's a threat, but to the likes of Superman and others, he's not a major threat. On a purely physical stand point, Naruto doesn't even scratch the top 100, but his Jutsu and the sheer destructiveness bump him up onto the top 100, but no matter how much I tried, I couldn't find any conceivable way for him to reach the top 50. **

**There's a saying; in a place where everyone is a 10/10, a 10 just becomes average. Well, in the DC universe there are a serious number of overpowered beings to the point that overpowered becomes average, Naruto put into the DC universe is not the same overpowered being he is in his own universe. He's just powerful so if that pisses off you serious hardcore Naruto fans who thinks he can fight guys like Darkseid then I'm afraid to say your delusional and you can insult me all you want, curse my name but I couldn't care less. **

**So yea, my Naruto is strong, stronger than you think and now that he's facing an opponent closer to his level, look how easily he dominated the fight.**

**Now, onto the questions:**

**Sultan Asil Arslan: That is true, I never noticed that good spot. Also yes and no, I will be using magic to recreate some techniques from Naruto, but not all. However, I will be looking at other anime for magic techniques, but I won't be having Naruto using names for them, except for the seriously powerful ones. So I'll probably put a spell index at the bottom that lists the spells used and what anime there from, but spell names won't be used that often except for seriously powerful ones.**

**Yes, he will be getting weapons and swords will be used, sorry, but he will be proficient in other weapons. So don't worry, he won't be limited to just swords.**

**Shin: The duo of Black Hood and Red Hood won't happen for a while, Naruto isn't quite ready to take on an apprentice and if he did, he'd mess it up because he's not good enough to impart knowledge onto someone else just yet. However, it will happen eventually because a Black/Red Hood duo is something I want to happen.**

**By TMNT, are you on about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, if so, no. Sorry, but that's whole new can of worms that I don't want to touch.**

**RasenSurenHeCan: Yes, but Naruto himself can't just make big changes easily. If things like that happened then we'd see it more often. You need power to make big changes and Naruto knows that which is why big changes won't happen for a while. Then you have to take into account the enemy as well, some are incredibly smart, powerful and influential, it's going to take more than Naruto being Naruto to change things. Look at Gaara, if Naruto wasn't strong enough to beat Gaara, then Naruto would be dead, Gaara would still be a murdering psychopath. He had to be strong enough to beat Gaara to change him and that needs to happen in this world as well.**

**Big changes are coming, but my Naruto needs to get stronger before he can make them.**

**Bladewolf101: Yes, my friend, Jason Todd.**

**GamerX568: Yes, it was Jason Todd.**

**Vongola Ninja: That was a typo, I'll go back and fix that later. And yes, in the future the Talon will be gaining some of the powers he gained in comics so he'll be getting an enhancement to make him a more dangerous threat for Naruto. When Jason dies, it will be his normal cannon death because Naruto will be elsewhere and unable to stop it. **

**Pairings are stuck at Barbara, Kara and Koriand'r, but Naruto will have sexual encounters in between them when the relationships end. As for most of those powers, I'm afraid two of them will be happening, though not for a while. However, just letting you know though I'll keep it secret for now on which ones. Also yes, Constantine and Naruto will meet with the former imparting a few bits of wisdom, but he will not be Naruto's teacher.**

**Fusion Uzumaki: Sorry, Naruto won't be taking Jason on as his apprentice because right now, he's not capable of actually teaching the kid. He's won his fights either because he's had a partner or just through sheer determination, his fight with Killer Croc shows he is skilled and dangerous, but not enough that I want to him to take on an apprentice. He's never been the teacher type and while he'll give a few tips here and there, he's not going to have a proper sidekick. Though a Black/Red Hood team up will definitely happen in the future.**

**Samuel Santillan: Sorry I has to use google translate and its butchered some of the translation so if I answer a question that you didn't ask or already knew the answer to, I apologised. Anyway, besides the serum, I'm going to give Naruto his Kyūbi chakra cloak abilities, with my own little spin on it as well as magic. Future powers are still up for debate because let's face it, he's gonna need some big powers boosts to contend with the big leagues.**

**Partners? If you mean pairings then it's Barbara, Kara and Kori, but if you mean like teams. Naruto will be working with the Young Justice team, but will also be working with the Teen Titans, a few times with the Justice League and few other teams eventually, when I get to the real apocalyptic events, Naruto and the next generation will form a new team.**

**As for the last part, I don't even know what google translate is trying to say because it's completely butchered it, so I apologise again.**

**KarmaHoudini: Yes, it was Jason Todd. Yes, he will become a Robin, though his viewpoints on heroes and villains will be much like Naruto's due to being a fan, Batman will try to change that, but it won't work. Also no, Killing Joke is still happening, it's going to be a pivotal point of Barbara character development, will set Jason on the path of Red Hood and even force Naruto and others to change as well. **

**RedDragonRevan: Yes, or you could view it as the Mirakuru formula from Arrow minus the deformation of body or mind aspect that comes with it. Either way, it doesn't matter their both practically the same.**

**Akuma's Knight: I actually planned to have Naruto and Barbara get together after the Court of Owls, but as I was writing it out, the differences and the amount of secrets between them made it seem to forced to actually happen. If it did, they still wouldn't trust one another fully and we all know a relationship would be doomed to fail if that was the case. However, they will be getting together in Young Justice season 1 once they've found common ground once more.**

**uchihaNaruto247: I know right, Slade is a badass, actually badass doesn't even do him justice. As for Jason, yes he is though don't expect him to become Naruto's sidekick like a lot of people hope he will be. As for Killer Croc, thank you, he is an overwhelming force and is the most physically powerful person in Gotham. I was actually worried that people would be pissed Naruto got his ass kicked again, so I'm glad to see you appreciate my characterisation of him.**

**Yohnos: Yes, yes and yes. The dog and human analogy is perfect and Naruto in a way views criminals as animals and puts them down much like we out down rabid animals. It is Jason Todd and he will become the Robin after Dick and then later on Red Hood where you can eagerly anticipate a team up with Black Hood. And yes, you're the first to see what I was going for. Batman views Naruto the same way he viewed a Jason and as a result will actually treat Jason better and understand how to act around him because of Naruto. **

**nliochristou: Yes, Naruto's adventures will eventually go out into space, this story is going to go beyond just Young Justice and will encompass all of DC, that includes interdimensional, extraterrestrials and all the villains. Some will be dealt with off screen, mentioned only in passing but others, mainly the big bads will get their own arcs.**

**Jamal rarick: Yes, he will get other equipment. The equipment he has now is his Black Hood outfit, he has two more possibly a third hero costume which will represent his change in character as he develops throughout the course of the story.**

**Yakuza2010: Possibly, I'm not sure as I don't want Naruto to be capable of doing everything. With Miss Martian and her telepathy the language barrier isn't a barrier as we saw in Season 2. Though there are problems when she's no longer conscious. Either way he either will but it will be only one or two languages, or he'll have other people there to make up for that.**

**DylanTheDemon: Yes, I'm aware. He's immune to dying from natural causes, however death is still a very real possibility for him and will not change. Death will always be something Naruto will face.**

**Jason Hunter: Don't worry about that, I won't be including a scene but later on after the Suicide Squad arc I do plan to explain how Waller knew about Naruto. I will be answering that question so don't worry.**

**howclay: Yea, if Naruto continued as he was now without the serum he would never having being a heavy hitter. And that's fine about your interest being primarily in his character, in fact that's what I want to go for. Most times development of a characters power is the main focus of a story and they forget to develop the character. I've done it myself and so, I set out to make things a little different.**

**There's still development of power, subtle it maybe due to the level of Naruto's opponents, but it's still there. However, the main focus of this earlier book is Naruto's development as he's thrust into the wider DC universe and all the dangers that come with it as well as his and Barbara's relationship.**

**Speaking of, their friendship will mend, but it will be right near the end of this story as Naruto branches off away from Gotham for a little while. But they do reconcile near the end of this story, but there will still be problems that carry onto the next book. No relationship unfortunately which I did plan to happen, but I couldn't find a way to do it in the context of things that had happened so far.**

**calderoneric758: Jason will be targeted by Jason much like he was, but if you're talking about Killing Joke, his main target will be Barbara. Jason and Naruto's relationship is complicated, much like a lot of Naruto's relationships, but its far from perfect. There's happiness, awe, sadness, guilt, resentment and anger between the two of them. However, Barbara means far more too Naruto's and therefore Jokers attack on her will be more impactful.**

**Tom2011: Do they, huh I didn't know that. I tried looking to see if that was the case but I never found anything. Oh well, I'm gonna leave it as it is for now. **

**ninjafanhein: No, that's a little too much for Naruto. Naruto is never going to be the type of person capable of doing something like that.**

**Guest: Yes, I did and that's because I was editing and then uploading those improved chapters again. By deleting the older stories it made it easier for me to know which of the edited chapters I had and hadn't uploaded. But don't worry, as of Monday I will have caught up with where I was before.**

**Hope this clears up any questions you might and if not, don't be afraid to put them in a review, just don't be a dick about it.**


	15. Chapter XII - Suicide Squad

**Injustice: The Path to Hell.**

**Book 1: A Journeys Beginning.**

**Chapter XIII – Suicide Squad**

**PLEASE READ THIS! VERY IMPORTANT!**

**So if you are reading this, thank you. Anyway, I would like to say that we are back to where we were originally and after Fridays update, I will be going back to my once every fortnight update schedule, I originally planned to just do a once a week update on Friday, but as of five weeks ago I've been struggling with writers block. Don't worry I still have plenty of chapters ready to go. This first book has all it chapters ready to go so this book will be finished. As for the second, I've got up to Zatanna's arrival completed. **

**So still plenty of chapters ready to go. But I'm not going to do a once a week update because over the course of lockdown I've been writing constantly. Getting at least one chapter a week done and as a result, I've just got a bit tired. It's less writers block and more tiredness and me needing to take a break. That's why I'm going to be updating once every two weeks so that I should be able to at least start writing long before my chapters start running low. **

**Hope you can understand this decision, but I do apologise if some of you hoped for me to keep this schedule up and going. Anyway, lets get onto the story.**

"Normal Speech."

_'Normal Thought.'_

**"Demon Speech."**

**_'Demon Thought.'_**

_Location/Time_

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Saturday 25th April, 17:00._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_East End._

Letting the warm water run over his body, Naruto released a sigh as he felt his tense muscles loosen off. His eyes were closed in thought as he remembered back to the fight that had happened against Killer Croc.

It hadn't lasted as long as he had expected and while he certainly wasn't as physically strong or as fast as the supervillain, it was his enhanced mind that gave him the edge needed to finish the fight decisively. The serum hadn't made him smarter in the conventional sense. No, it had instead enhanced his ability to process and store information.

Even when moving at great speeds, Naruto hadn't suffered from tunnel vision and had been able to process everything around him with ease. Killer Croc who moved at greater speeds than himself seemed to move in slow motion to his eyes.

In a way this was also a downside as Killer Croc has come close to killing him on many occasions. This was all down to the fact that while Killer Croc appeared to be moving slow, his body had not been able to fully keep up. As a result, he misjudged when to move on a few occasions and had suffered a few cuts here and there.

Cuts that were already healed.

Stepping out of the shower, Naruto dried his body off and wrapped the towel around his waist. As he moved out into his bedroom, he stopped and looked at his image in the mirror.

Over the course of the months in which he had become Black Hood he had grown three inches putting him at a respectable height of 6"4 and had put on another few pounds. Though most of his training as of recently had been focused on his speed. One thing he had learned was that while he was stronger than Barbara and Robin, he certainly wasn't as fast. So, he had been working on that and it had been working very well. Giving him a much more slim and leaner build than the bulky one he had been building. Not only that, but the number of scars littering his body had doubled in number. Most from the Talon and his undead compatriots, but he had few bullets wounds and even a few knife wounds.

Tracing his finger along one particularly large scar, Naruto released another sigh. _'So, it seems while I have a regenerative ability, it does not heal old scars.'_ He wasn't overly bothered by this, his scars showed that he had come from small beginnings and had rose above it, but he wouldn't lie and say that he wished they weren't there as well.

His eyes then trailed to his hands that he raised up. They hadn't changed, but he could feel the difference, the same feeling that he could feel throughout his entire body. His body temperature had shot through the roof going from thirty-seven degrees Celsius to seventy-four degrees Celsius.

It would be worrying if Naruto didn't feel any different, the only reason he knew about the difference was because one of his kinder and friendlier neighbours pointed it out. The man had thought he was sick and so had Naruto at first, until he realised it was linked directly to the serum. He had no proof as it was nothing more than a theory, but considering he didn't feel sick and had shown no symptoms, it was a pretty solid theory.

Either way, Naruto felt powerful.

Sure, he was still learning to control his new bodies changes, yet he couldn't see that as a major downside. In his fight with Killer Croc he had found himself adapting and learning how his body had changed much better than when he had actually been training.

_'Adversity breed excellence.'_ Naruto recounted having read that as part of his homework when he had still been at school. The saying never rang truer than when it did for him when he was fighting against Killer Croc or his entire career as Black Hood. Naruto would not lie that he had become frustrated and disheartened at how much he had been beaten. Against the likes of Deadshot, Batman or the Talon who were masters of fighting, what hope did he have? Very little and it had shown, but against the likes of Killer Croc. It showed just how far Naruto had come and he couldn't help but realise how stupid he had been.

Of course, he wasn't going to be able to bridge the gap between him and Batman in the space of two months. That was ridiculous and yet, he had expected to be able to do just that.

It would take more than a few sessions in local martial arts clubs to be on the same level as Batman. But that was fine, he hadn't realised how quickly he had been improving and he had been improving, it was just the level of his opponents that made it difficult to show just how much. Killer Croc was dangerous and Naruto had already seen the clip of his fight against said supervillain blowing up on YouTube.

Turns out one of the civilians that had been hiding, had also been recording the fight. It was choppy and all over the place, but the video showed how easily Naruto had been able to keep Killer Croc at bay. Sure, he had made a few slip ups, but they were nothing important and didn't even switch the flow of the battle in Killer Croc's favour.

From the start to the end, Naruto had been in control of the battle and had dictated the flow. Naruto doubted he could have done it so easily if it wasn't for the serum.

_'I still need to get stronger. Killer Croc is someone without much in the way of skill and I know from first-handexperience, that what I need to improve on is my skill. If I want any chance at beating the likes of the Talon again, I need to get better.'_ While the Talon was incarcerated, Naruto had no doubts he would get out eventually.

If the likes of Killer Croc could get out of prison, then someone as skilled and as cunning as the Talon would have no problems. Naruto would prepare for that moment and when the Talon got out, Naruto would be ready,

He would not lose again.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Sunday 26th April, 12:30._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_Wayne Manor._

"He's on the move again." Bruce looked up from where he was stretching on the floor to see Dick sat in front of the Batcomputer with numerous camera feeds being displayed on it. "That makes it the fifth time today."

Standing up, Bruce made his way towards his protégé. "Where?"

"East End still. He hasn't left it since, well since the Court of Owls." Dick informed Bruce who nodded his head in understand as he turned back to stretch his body. While he had slowly recovered, he had started to do some light training. Nothing overly major as to worsen his injuries, but enough to keep him in shape and prepared for when he was fully recovered.

Dick on the other hand was still recovering and so spent most of his day using the Batcomputer to study the patterns of criminals. Things had been quiet since the Court of Owls which was good. The only problem had been Killer Croc and with Batman unable to do anything, Bruce and Dick had feared that the rest of the criminals in Gotham would see this as an opportunity. Even with Barbara still capable, she was like he had explained, emotionally compromised and wouldn't be able to of fully think her actions through.

Skilled she might be, but she was still learning.

As a result, Bruce had decided to wait. He hated it, to hear the reports on how the people Killer Croc had killed in his moment of absence, but Bruce didn't have a choice. He could have called in for help and while he certainly was willing to ask for help, he needed to be careful.

There were some threats and situations where in reality he should have called in for help. But right now, despite how bad things had gotten, he couldn't.

If he called for help, he would be giving credence to all those little whispers circulating amongst the criminals of Gotham. It would embolden them, though if things had continued, Bruce would have bitten the bullet and done exactly that. He had already broken the criminals of Gotham once and driven them into the shadows, he could do it again and he would.

However, there was no need to do so.

As of yesterday, Black Hood had done what many people had thought he wouldn't be capable of, killed Killer Croc. Bruce had seen the fight that had been posted on the internet and he would admit that he was impressed. Primarily though, he was worried, extremely so.

The increased strength, speed and the sheer calmness upon which Naruto operated in that fight was beyond anything Naruto had shown before. He had dictated the flow of the battle with an ease he shouldn't have and had never displayed before. Somehow, Naruto had improved drastically in the space of a few days and it worried Bruce because improvements of that level were not natural.

"He's doing good, really good." Dick spoke up after a few minutes. "Since Killer Croc's death, crime that had been steadily rising by five percent has dropped drastically and is still dropping, especially in the East End. Not so much in the other parts of Gotham because Naruto's not there, obviously." Dick looked closely at the statistics shown by the Batcomputer that had already calculated and compiled the data in seconds. "But he's doing good."

Bruce remained silent as he spared a glance at the screen.

_'Perhaps, but maybe that is the problem.'_ Bruce thought as he narrowed his eyes. _'He's too accurate and precise in his actions which doesn't make sense, the information needed to be that accurate is beyond Naruto's ability. Not even his supporters should be able to receive accurate data like that. So where is he getting it from?'_

With that thought in his mind, Bruce felt his frustrations grow.

Naruto was still young and despite having being manipulated by Alton Carver once, Bruce had a feeling Naruto might be unknowingly being manipulated again. A worrying thought especially seen as though it seems Naruto in the space of a few days was improving at a far faster pace than before.

With every fight Naruto was in he improved, adapted and grew stronger. If he was being manipulated and it was successful this time, Naruto could prove to be a dangerous threat.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Wednesday 29th April, 19:00._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_East End._

Lazily, Naruto looked up at the sky his hands interlocked behind his head while one leg swung backwards and forwards as it dangled over the side of the building precariously. All it would take was for Naruto to move a little to the left and he would plummet to the ground below.

But he didn't, content to remain still as he took one of today's rare rest periods to relax.

It had been a busy day what with Naruto using his newfound powers to his advantage. With his previous stamina enhanced even further by the serum, Naruto no longer felt the need to rest like he had done before. Something Naruto took advantage of and spent the entire day and the last few days hunting down and putting a stop to any crime in the East End.

One thing he had realised was that he had been incredibly stupid.

Before, he had rushed around Gotham finding and putting a stop to every crime he could find. When in reality, he could have sent a greater message by focusing on East End alone. With East End's reputation, if he could reduce crime drastically, then wouldn't that send a message to the people of Gotham?

It certainly would, better than sticking to areas like Gotham Heights where the police and Batman had already made their mark.

Feeling his phone buzz, Naruto pulled it out and unlocked it as to read the message he got. 'Victor Zsasz, Gotham Heights.' Underneath it was a map with a blinking red light on it. Knowing what that meant, Naruto rose to his feet and began rushing towards the area shown on the map.

Naruto would admit that he was unsure on how to feel about Deathstroke providing him with the whereabouts of a number of criminals. Each fight he had gotten into today had been deals going on between criminals belonging to big time crime families like the Falcone and Maroni families. There had even been a few Red Hood gang members and some survivors of the False Face Society as well had started to read their heads again.

But this was by far the biggest fish Deathstroke had given him. Certainly big enough for him to leave East End.

Naruto knew what Deathstroke was trying to do. He was trying foster trust between them and it was certainly working, but Naruto had already been manipulated once and he was going to make damn sure that it didn't happen a second time.

Either way, Deathstroke was providing a great deal of help.

Victor Zsasz, or Mister Zsasz as he was often referred to by the Gotham news station was a well-known and feared psychopathic serial killer who had carved his flesh with marks for every kill he had committed. But before that he had once being the owner of his own international company and amassed a large fortune.

His parents died when he was twenty-five in a boating accident. This caused him to suffer from depression and started gambling (and losing) as well as drinking heavily. Naruto didn't know what happened after that, only that he started killing people. He had tried to dig deeper for more information, but there was nothing more than speculation and rumours. None of it sounded realistic or even remotely possible so Naruto had decided to ignore it.

It wasn't like it would change the way Naruto viewed Victor Zsasz, and that was as trash that needed disposing of.

Something Naruto was going to do tonight.

As he closed in the location, Naruto took note of a police car parked outside an alleyway. And as he drew nearer, he could see that the walls were caked with blood. Not to mention that the police offers who were stood outside the alleyway, guns pointed out in shaking hands.

Landing on the roof of the building, Naruto looked down and studying the situation.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Wednesday 29th April, 19:05._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_Gotham Heights._

"C-C-Come out with your hands up!" One of the police officers ordered as his gun shook in terrified hands. The amount of blood on the wall was making him queasy and he was scared for his life.

That's when laughing was heard and from the shadows came a half-naked man. Blood coated his naked upper body and leather-clad legs, but even then, they could make out the number of scars on his body. Each looked like tallies and there were too many to count. Nearly all of his torso and arms were covered in them.

And as the man stepped further into the light their eyes caught the glinting of steel and looked to see him holding a basic flip knife dripping with blood.

"F-Freeze!" The police officers partner ordered shakily as the man chuckled insanely as he continued to walk towards them. However, he stopped and the police officers froze in terror when there was the sound of something landing on the bonnet of their police car.

"Hehehehe, now this is going to be fun." Victor Zsasz laughed as he took in the sight of just who had arrived. The police officers shakily turned around and their bodies simultaneously relaxed in relief, but tensed in shock at the sight of Black Hood stood there on their bonnet.

"You can leave." Black Hood said as he walked off the bonnet and calmly made his way towards them.

"H-he-"

One of them went to interject only for his partner to be more than willing and dragged his partner away. This left Victor who stood with knife held loosely in one hand down by his side as Black Hood walked towards him and came to a stop just in front of him.

Victor smiled madly. "I'm going to enjoy cutting you up." He said viciously followed by a cackle that would send shivers down people's spines.

Naruto on the other hand just stared at him calmly and raised one hand up to show the sharp claws resting there. "I'm sure." He replied dryly before shooting forwards and with a single swipe from his right hand cut deeply into Zsasz hand. With a cry of pain, Zsasz dropped his knife and stumbled back onto his knees cradling his bleeding hand.

However, instead of crying and begging like the other criminals that had done so today when Naruto had used the same move on them. Victor just laughed madly and looked at Naruto with a wild look in his eyes.

But just as Victor rose to his feet in order to attack Naruto, he didn't even have time to rise to his feet before Naruto's roundhouse kick smashed into his face. The force behind it sent Mister Zsasz headfirst into the wall where he bounced straight back off, a noticeable imprint left behind.

Reaching out, Naruto wrapped his hand around Victor's neck and lifted the man off the ground and then quickly slammed him back into the ground with enough force to crack the ground.

Rising to his feet, Naruto brushed off some of the dirt that had gotten onto his suit and instead of dirtying himself anymore, just pulled out his gun. "You know, if this was a few weeks ago, I'd reckon you'd beat me." Naruto said as he aimed it at Victor's still smiling face. "But now the gaps just too big." Then he fired and the lone gunshot sounded throughout the area.

Sighing, Naruto holstered his gun and spun on his heel, pausing slightly as he looked at the dead bodies of Victor's latest victims. His fists clenched tightly as he took in their states and he felt his anger grow.

_'Even with this power, I'm still not strong enough.'_ Naruto thought before shaking his head. _'Then I'll just have to become stronger.'_

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Wednesday 29th April, 19:30._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_East End._

Pushing open his door, Naruto chucked his backpack holding his Black Hood outfit onto the sofa and headed directly to the kitchen counter where he switched on the kettle. Pulling out a cup and a tea bag, Naruto leaned his back against the counter, arms crossed over his chest and eyes closed in thought.

Right now, Naruto knew that he needed to get stronger.

With Batman and a Robin out of commission, that just left Gotham in the hands of him, Barbara and the police. Now as much as he trusted Jim, Naruto wasn't stupid to believe that all the police in Gotham weren't corrupt. Naruto knew for a fact that while the police had, since Batman's arrival begun to change and become less corrupt, it was still a work in progress. There was still plenty that took pay checks from criminals to look the over way.

One good thing was that the number of police that actively aided criminals had all but diminished. Though there was still a few, most just got paid to look the over way now.

Either way, Naruto knew that he could trust Jim to protect the city, but he was limited by the law. Barbara despite being a vigilante was limited by the law, by choice. As a result, there were things both would be unwilling to do in order to save the city.

And that wasn't even taking into account the fact that Batgirl hadn't been seen since the Court of Owls incident.

And Naruto had no idea where she was.

_'Partly my own fault.'_ Naruto conceded seen as though he had completely ignored and avoided Barbara. Even when she tried to reach out to him after the Court of Owls had been dealt with, Naruto ignored her.

However, that didn't change the fact that as far as things were going right now, the only people that were protecting Gotham were him and the police. Naruto had honestly underestimated how difficult that could be. Maybe he had taken on a bit more than he should have, but while not physically exhausted, mentally he was.

His respect for Batman was growing with every day it seems. _'Though I still don't like him.'_ No, he may respect Batman for his strength of will and skill as a fighter, he doubted he would ever like the man.

Even with his new strength gifted to him by Deathstroke and with said man's information, Naruto was finding himself struggling. The fights weren't overly difficult, thanks to his mind being able to process information at a far faster pace, Naruto could quite easily keep pace even when facing twenty thugs at the same time. With his strength and speed, this only made it easier.

However, the sheer amount of information he was processing was giving him a headache and it was exhausting.

Though from what he had heard, Batman was seen last night and from what Naruto could guess, was probably hunting down the Joker. Seen as though all but one cache of a Fearless Toxin was accounted for, with that missing cache being stolen by Clown Prince of Crime himself.

_'What's that?'_ Naruto questioned as he tensed up, his voice picking up the sound of movement outside his door. For the most part, this wouldn't be that strange considering most would be returning home from to the pub or heading out to work at this time. It was why Naruto tended to avoid coming home at this time as it made avoiding getting caught easier. However, due to his mental exhaustion Naruto had to call it quits earlier.

That was one of the reasons why Naruto had gotten changed out in a nearby alley before coming inside.

Late at night most people still out in this part of town would be too high or too drunk – or both – to actually take notice of him entering his apartment. At this time however, well Naruto wouldn't take that risk.

But he was getting off track, the thing that was making him cautious about the movement outside was the number of footsteps outside and they were in close formation. Heavy footsteps, lightly and quickly moved across the floor as if trying not to make too much noise.

That's when his sense of sound was taken over by the sound of kettle boiling, but he still heard the following sound clearly.

***Click***

Reacting quickly, Naruto leaped to one side just as bullets burst through the door and parts of the wall. Keeping his chest close to the ground, Naruto waited patiently as his mind played over possible tactics. He briefly considered jumping out the window, but that's when his eyes picked up on the sight of a number of moving bodies on the roof of the next building.

_'Whoever organised this is clearly good.'_ There was nowhere for Naruto to go and he doubted that jumping down would be any good. If the leader of this little attack had enough men to line the roof of the next building, it wasn't a stretch of the imagination that they would have more men waiting downstairs. _'Now the question is how they knew who I was and what they want?'_

Before he could think more on this, the gunfire stopped and the door was kicked open. Moving quickly, Naruto rushed up and turned to see ten armoured men enter the room with guns raised, and more waiting outside.

Yet Naruto was already in motion and was upon them before they could start firing.

Smacking one gun to the side so that it fired harmless into the ground, Naruto kicked the man to the side with enough force to send him flying into the kitchen counter. Another man moved forwards and Naruto one grip on his bulletproof armour threw him across the room where he slammed into the wall of his bedroom.

A kick to the third man sent him into two more behind him dropping them to the ground and that was when he felt something pierce his side.

Looking down, Naruto noticed a dart of some kind sticking out. _'Capture then.'_ Naruto deduced but didn't even slow down and rushed the guy that shot him, who was flanked by four guys.

A few blows sent them all to the ground in groaning mess only for another two darts to pierce his back.

Growling, Naruto gripped the leg one soldier and swung him round into three others sending them to floor before reaching down and pulled the carpet out from underneath four more, each falling to the ground as their bullets hit the ceiling above them.

Another dart hit his back and with one hand holding the leg of his coffee table, Naruto spun round and launched it at the guy who fired. He having moved around the corner of the room to move behind Naruto.

It worked, but Naruto was ignoring the drugs that were in the darts and continued to fight.

Six more guys dropped to the floor as more and more men piled into the room, some having repelled from the roof and bursting through the window.

_'Damn it!'_ Naruto cursed as he stumbled slightly on his feet as he knocked one guy unconscious with a punch to the face. Only for two more guys to fire at him, he avoided one bullet only for the second to hit his leg. _'These guys are good.'_

Back handing one man that attempted to sneak up on him, Naruto gripped his armoured suit and chucked him into the roof as the man fell to the floor, Naruto kicked him with enough force to send him flying into two others where they collapsed to the ground in a heap.

Breathing heavily as the drugs started taking effect, Naruto felt his body moving sluggishly. His movements was still fast and strong, but nowhere near as crisp or as fast as they were at the start. And with more bullets managing to hit him, the effect of the drugs got stronger and stronger.

Whoever these guys were, they were well-trained and had experience with fighting enhanced individuals.

Grunting as something pierced his skin feeling like pincers, Naruto looked down to see two prongs poking out of his body. That moment of hesitation was all they needed for six more to pierce his body and Naruto only had a moment to realise what they were both electricity coursed down the length of the wire before he cried out in pain.

"Gah!" Dropping to his knees, Naruto braced his hands on the floor and breathed heavily as his body let off some smoke.

As one of the soldiers moved towards him, Naruto lashed out with a punch that whipped his head upwards and then threw him at one of the guys holding the modified tasers. As soon as he did another current of electricity coursed through Naruto's body as he dropped to the ground once more.

It was longer this time and it felt stronger as well, to the point it left Naruto paralysed for a few seconds. But just as feeling began to return to his body, one of the soldier's stood above him, gun raised into the air.

It slammed down onto Naruto with enough force that his nose burst open, blood pooling down his face. Yet Naruto registered none of that as his vision slowly blurred and became black.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Wednesday 29th April, 20:10._

_New Jersey, _

_Gotham City, _

_East End._

Narrowing her eyes, Barbara looked through the lenses of her Batgirl costume as it zoomed in on Naruto's apartment. As of a few minutes ago, a number of calls to the police had been sent in asking for help upon hearing gunfire in the apartment complex. Barbara upon hearing about gunfire in Naruto's apartment complex had rushed over as quickly as she could, sparing Bruce only a few words.

_'He doesn't need my help anyway; the Joker's already been caught.'_ Barbara thought back to what she and Batman had been doing for the past two days. Ever since the news of Killer Croc's death at the hands of Naruto had sent those few criminals that had gotten a little too confident in Batman's short absence scurrying back into their holes.

As much as they would have liked Batman's absence to have gone unnoticed, it had not. Thankfully, Black Hood had sent a message to them that Gotham was still protected and Barbara was equal parts happy as it bought Bruce more time to recover, she was also saddened by how he had done it.

Either way, with the criminals hiding – anyone who could kill Killer Croc was certainly something to be feared in their books – Bruce had been able to recover without forcing himself to drastic measures. He wasn't at full health by any stretch of the meaning, but he was certainly fit enough to fight and they had not wasted a moment and began their hunt for the Joker.

It had been a little difficult in the beginning, but like always, the Joker couldn't help but leave a trail for them to follow. His little messages to Batman that taunted him, begged him to come as part of their game of cat and mouse.

As soon as the report had come in, she and Batman had already finished detaining the Joker and Batgirl had instantly rushed off.

Now here she was looking at the apartment complex in worry. Through her built-in lenses, Barbara had zoomed in on Naruto's apartment where her dad was currently studying the mess that her friends' room had become. The amount of bullet holes littering the walls and the dents from what was undoubtedly bodies hitting into them was immense and it would cost hundreds if not thousands to repair.

Yet one question plagued her mind. '_Naruto, where are you?'_ Barbara wondered; her mind clouded with worry.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Thursday 30th April, 19:00._

_Location Unknown._

Groaning, Naruto slowly opened his eyes and quickly closed them when the blinding light of the room was too painful for him. After a few seconds Naruto opened them once more and while it was certainly better, it wasn't great and so lifted one hand as to cover his eyes a little and looked around.

The first thing he took note of was that he was wearing his suit minus the face mask, hood as well as his weapons, including his gloves. Then he saw the number of individuals in the room as well.

Around him he could make out the sight of seven other people all slowly waking up. The first that caught his eye was the biggest of the lot, a large bulking beast that looked almost like a shark. Though with a muzzle on his face. _'If he's here and they fought him, then whoever captured me has a lot of experience and knowledge on enhanced people like me and how to beat them.'_

His eyes then panned to the sight of a tanned, well-built man in an all-black-tactical combat gear that looked awfully familiar quickly rising to his feet._ 'He's definitely being through this before.'_ Just by how quickly he got to his feet told Naruto more than words ever could. Just slightly in front of the man was a middle-aged man with brown hair and noticeable sideburns. He was dressed in black jeans, blue overcoat with a black shirt underneath and a scarf around his neck.

"Shit!" The man muttered with an audible Australian accent as he rubbed his eyes irritably. "I've got the hangover, but I don't remember the party."

That's when a very attractive blonde dressed in a jester outfit with her hair pulled into twin ponytails shot up into a seated position. "Oh crap, not this again." Then the woman dropped back into the floor with a thud to sleep or just lay there, he didn't know.

"You too." The Australian man rose to his feet arms crossed over his chest as he looked at the tanned figure who had already risen to his feet. "It's like a bloody recurring nightmare."

Despite the Australian man's annoyance, the other man just remained stoic as he leaned against the wall. "Looks like we got rookies." The man's eyes panned over the group taking note of a brown skinned man rising to his feet also clad in a black tactical gear, the humanoids-shark, his eyes however lingered on Naruto who was staring back at him with a calm gaze.

_'Definitely not the first time for him.'_ Naruto concurred as he looked at the remaining members in the white room, they were confined in. There was a large bulky guy with a bald head, the hair from it obviously having moved to other parts of his body. Though the most stand out part was the hand that seemed to be missing and replaced with some sort a prosthetic that looked like it could be fitted with something on the end.

Then his eyes panned to final member and he would admit that his eyes lingered more than they should have on the attractive young woman. She had pale blue hair and pale skin with her curvaceous body barely hidden by the skin-tight blue leotard. Though while his eyes did linger on her womanly assets longer than was acceptable, his eyes did take in the fact her hands were bound in some strange handcuffs, which completely covered her hands.

Wherever he was, Naruto didn't like it.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

"Who are you people?" Floyd looked to see the well-built man with a goatee quickly rising to his feet having already pulled the bandage from the back of his neck. It almost amused the mercenary to see how confused someone who was quite obviously very serious and used to being in control was. "And why am I in uniform?" The man questioned as he looked down at himself.

Turning away from the man, Floyd studied the rest of the new Suicide Squad. _'Waller sure can pick 'em.'_ Floyd thought as he looked at them. He was annoyed to be working with George Harkness again, neither of them got along very well.

Then there was Harley Quinn, the Jokers lover, or whatever their confusing relationship was. He hadn't worked with her yet, but it was quite obvious by her reaction that she had been a part of some of the iterations of the Suicide Squad that he hadn't been a part of.

His eyes then took in the rest, each of them newbies to their situation.

Antoli Knyazev, or KGBeast an assassin and hired muscle. _'Should be interesting to work with him than against him for once.'_ Floyd had run into him a few times and each time they had been on opposite sides. Usually due to Antoli being hired as a bodyguard for Floyd's targets. It usually ended with Floyd walking away successful due to his superior aim, though there have been times where Antoli got a few hits in.

Crystal Frost or Killer Frost was the next person Floyd looked at. In terms of powers, she was probably the most dangerous out of all the people here. _'Which was probably the reason as to why Waller got her._

King Shark was next, the huge creature slowly rising to his feet. No doubt due to his great physically strength and durability he would be here as the tank of the group. Especially considering the long-time member, Killer Croc had been killed by Black Hood as of a few days ago.

_'Now that was surprising, who would have thought the kid had it in him.'_ Floyd thought honestly impressed at how good Black Hood had gotten since their last fight. But he ignored that train of thought too instead study the final two members.

The first was the black man who had asked the questions, he certainly looked impressive in terms of physique. His attitude and the casual way in which he demanded answers told Floyd that this was a guy used to getting what he wanted. Most likely from beating his enemies, which in turned implied skill.

Then his eyes turned to the final and youngest member. _'Just a kid really, though he looks like he could prove to be a serious pain in my ass.'_ The casual way in which he sat there on the ground as he studied people around him was honestly, a little shocking. He was obviously concerned and curious as to what had happened, but he wasn't letting that stop him from studying the people he was stuck in a room with.

The idea that he would be a problem was further confirmed when he looked at the suit the kid was wearing. A suit very familiar seen as though he had fought the Dark Knight enough to recognise the protective suit.

_'Now, that is interesting.'_ Before Floyd could think on it further, King Shark rose to his feet, his huge frame attracting attention.

"No bars." King Shark said shortly, his voice muffled by the muzzle he wore over his mouth while he looked at his clawed hands. "No chains." His eyes then raised to look hungrily at Killer Frost who was still recovering from the drugs that had been pumped throughout her body. "Time for meat."

The villain leaned forwards and wrapped own hand around Killer Frosts leg and dragged her towards him. "Huh!" She yelped, yet she was already in motion while her mind still reeled from the sudden the movement.

Her free foot lashed out and hit King Shark in his balls. "Gah!" The villain cried out, releasing his grip on Killer Frost's leg as he did so while stumbling away. But before he could even recover, Killer Frost had already swung her hands around, each encased in the metal container no doubt designed to keep her powers contained.

The metal slammed into King Shark's face with enough force to knock the creature to the ground and she followed, straddling the big guys chest while pushing the metal container up to the underside of his chin like it was a gun.

_'Looks like the drugs they used on King Shark are still in effect.'_ Floyd deduced as he watched the villain get easily manhandled by someone who by all accounts, shouldn't have the necessary strength to knock him around. That left the only explanation being the drugs which would have been used in order to keep the villain sedated and easy to transport. _'Waller is nothing if not thorough.'_

"Try it fish fingers and I'll show you the meaning of cold blooded." She threatened all the while people watched with varying degrees of surprise and humour.

"You're feisty." Floyd didn't know whether to take that as a flirtatious comment or as simple statement of fact, but whatever the meaning behind King Shark's words, he couldn't let people get distracted or Waller would use one of them as an example for what happens should they disobey.

As of right now, the team set up besides Harley and George was one of the better teams and he didn't fancy losing a team member so early on. Especially not when it would be another suicidal mission that would be more dangerous than it actually needed to be.

"Everybody, shut up." Floyd stepped forwards, his steps echoing across the room as he drew everyone's attention to himself. "I've been here before…"

Before he could even finish what, he was saying, Antoli rushed past him with a roar and slammed a fist into the metal door. Floyd would give him this, he managed to put a dent into it, but Waller had designed this room to contain the likes of Killer Croc, he wouldn't be getting out of here unless she wanted it.

"Yah!" The Russian assassin turned to the rest of the room's inhabitants. "I am leaving." However, Floyd had stopped paying attention to him, instead his eyes turned to where the blonde kid was staring.

And there she was, the big, bad bitch herself.

Amanda Waller.

"Stop." Sparing a glance to the rest of the Suicide Squad, Floyd couldn't help but tip his hat to her at how easily she commanded a room filled with powerful villains. "Sit down." She commanded as if they were children and one at a time, each villain did so.

None of the newer members knew why they did, but there was something about the calm, confidence she exuded as she walked into the room filed with some of the most dangerous people in the world. It just screamed, 'don't fuck with me.'

And none of them did.

"I'm Amanda Waller." She came to a stop as she introduced herself. "I'm here to indoctrinate you convicts into our special forces."

"Pass." Frost spoke up dryly.

"I kill to keep degenerates off the streets." The goatee man stated firmly as if insulted to be considered a convict. "I won't work alongside them."

"Fresh air and time off my sentence? Feel free to keep calling me up, love." George announced, almost happy to be a part of the team.

Without even giving them an answer, Amanda continued on. "Task Force X is an off the books government strike team. Made up of convicts," her eyes narrowed as she looked down upon them, emphasising this point. "With no hope for release. Serving as expendable agents for impossible missions." There was a brief pause as Amanda allowed that to settle in. "Succeed. And I'll shave time off your sentences."

"And if we don't?"

"You'll be dead. Any other stupid questions?"

"Yea." Killer Frost spoke up. "What's in my neck? Tracker?"

"Yes." Amanda then raised one hand allowing a number of holographic screens to appear. One showed a map, the other showed the image of a brain and another showed a piece of technology followed by a full image of a human body. "And a powerful nanotech explosive. Run away. Get yourself captured. Disobey an order. Hell, give me a right answer too slowly and I'll blow your head clean off."

To further punctuate her point the holographic images all went red.

Again, silence permeated the room as they all digested the information that had been revealed to them. Floyd himself crossed his arms across his chest as he looked around the room to see their reactions.

For the most part, shock was the common emotion which was something he expected. It had been his reaction when he was first introduced to the Suicide Squad.

"You are lying." The growly voice of Antoli spoke firmly.

Everyone turned to see KGBeast getting to his feet, his arms outstretched.

"You would not take all of this trouble just to kill us." Instead of answering him, Amanda simply stepped to one side, her holographic images disappeared as one of the metal doors rose up to reveal a corridor.

"Try me." Amanda replied and Floyd released a sigh.

_'There's always one.'_ Shaking his head, Floyd remained where he was. While he would have liked to keep Antoli alive for his skill, Floyd wasn't going to risk his life for it and Amanda would make an example out of somebody to prove a point. It's why he chose to keep his mouth shut even when someone skilled and useful was walking to their graves.

Antoli grunted and started walking towards the door when all the convicts looked to see what he would do. "I wouldn't do that." Naruto eventually spoke up as he sat comfortably on the floor.

"What?" Antoli asked, turning to face the blonde.

"Well, I'm simply saying that you're being stupid." Naruto pointed out, the insult causing Antoli to grit his teeth in annoyance. "I mean come on, it's quite obvious she isn't bluffing and while I'm all for letting guys like you die." Naruto then turned to look at Amanda out of the corner of his eye to see her staring at him calmly, giving nothing away. "But if we really are expendable, then that means she'll be sending us on some seriously difficult missions that by all accounts, no one would take. I like living, so I'm gonna ask you to stop being hasty and sit down."

"She will not kill us." Antoli responded and Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

"If you want to believe that, then by all means do so, but the truth is already in front of you." With a wave of his hand he indicated towards Floyd, George and Harley. "Those three have quite obviously being here before. They recovered the quickest out of all of you and they also complained about this situation in a way that says this isn't the first time it's happened to them. The fact that they didn't even blink an eye nor seem shocked at the bitch's words says all you need. She ain't bluffing."

Floyd quirked an eyebrow impressed at the kid's deduction. It definitely showed that despite his young age, the kid was definitely skilled and he was forced to reevaluate his opinion on what he had written off as another body that would no doubt be killed.

_'Though if Antoli does listen to his words then Amanda may make an example out of the kid just because she can.'_Floyd thought as he watched Antoli think over Naruto's words. _'It definitely wouldn't be the first time.'_

Antoli looked at Naruto who stared right back and while he certainly considered Naruto's words, Antoli wasn't about to let some fat woman or some snot nosed brat tell him what to do. And so, without a sound, KGBeast walked towards the open door pausing only for a moment once he reached the threshold.

Then he stepped over.

One step.

Two steps.

Three steps.

Beeping sounded, clearly heard in the quiet and tense atmosphere of the room in which they resided. With barely any chance to let out a shout, Antoli's head exploded the force of the explosion destroying the brain and skull leaving nothing except a few splatters of blood on the walls.

If it was possible, the silence of the room became even greater as they watched Antoli's headless body drop to its knees and then falling to the ground.

"Anyone else?"

No one said a word.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Thursday 30th April, 23:30._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_Iceberg Lounge._

Stepping into the room provided to him by the Penguin, Naruto looked around cautiously. His eyes scanned the room for any cameras and after fully checking the room and finding nothing, Naruto undressed himself and collapsed onto the bed.

Interlocking his fingers behind his head, the blonde stared up at the ceiling deep in thought as he went over everything that had happened.

After the death of what Naruto came to know was the Russian mercenary, KGBeast, Waller had explained the mission. _'She really wasn't kidding when she said that we were expendable.'_ Breaking into Arkham Asylum was something no one wanted to do. It was well-known that those working at Arkham were sometimes, just as bad as those that they were treating. It was also guarded by a large amount of security, an entire private army to be exact all to keep people in. Though that wasn't really working as those that were corrupt were far more plentiful than those that were actually trying to do good.

So breaking into Asylum wouldn't be difficult, but not getting caught while inside would be. To actually then find the Riddler's cane was going to be even more so and Naruto didn't really fancy his odds of that.

Against common thugs, Naruto was more than confident and capable to deal with large groups of them on his own. Why wouldn't he? They had next to no training and often got in each other's way in fights making it easy for him to take them out. But as corrupt as those security guards working at Gotham were, they were also well-trained and had received even more training to put down superhuman individuals.

And above all else, if anyone snuck into Arkham and were found, a large amount of GCPD officers would appear cutting off any escape by sea and covering the entire bridge – the only way to get on the island not by boat – with enough police cars that it would appear to be a sea of white and blue.

Not to mention Batman would be upon Arkham and would tear through everything in his way to ensure that everyone remained in their cells.

Naruto had done a bit of gambling in his time growing up, but even he didn't like their odds right now. Especially not with their team.

It consisted of George Harkness, aka Captain Boomerang. One of Flash's enemies whose personality made him a very difficult man to get along with. Especially with the de facto leader of the ground, Floyd Lawton, aka Deadshot.

Seeing his first, real threat was certainly a shock. While Black Mask had been his target, Deadshot had been the biggest obstacle between him and said target. In reality, while he had killed Black Mask, he hadn't actually beaten Deadshot. Though he imagined with his new powers a fight might have a different outcome all together.

In fact, out of all the people here he was one of the two people Naruto would actually be willing to work with. Sure, they had a fight and Deadshot was trying his hardest – well maybe not hardest, Naruto would admit that much at least – it hadn't been personal and was just business.

Then there was King Shark, he was quite obviously the muscle of the ground and wasn't much of a talker. He also wasn't very smart.

Naruto didn't like him because he reminded Naruto far too much of Killer Croc.

Next was Harley Quinn, another person Naruto didn't like. Not only was she a known colleague of the Joker – despite how she claims she's no longer with him – she was still responsible for hundreds of deaths. He would have killed her as soon as he figured out who she was, but the bomb in his neck stopped him from doing so.

After that was the final two members of their team.

Eric Needham, aka Black Spider. He was a vigilante like himself and Naruto could respect that, even if the guy was a little too stuck up and self-entitled. He was certainly the lone wolf type and Naruto would have been fine with that, so was he. But Naruto knew that right now, being a lone wolf would only get them killed.

Finally, there was Crystal Frost, aka Killer Frost. Her powers would certainly make her an asset and probably the most dangerous out of them all. _'Plus. She's hot.'_ His teenage mind whispered and Naruto shook his head with a light blush forming on his cheeks.

Hearing a knock on his door, Naruto sat up and looked at the door curiously. "Oi, Naruto." The voice of Crystal sounded on the other end as she knocked on the door once more. "Open up."

Not knowing what else to do, Naruto walked up to the door wearing nothing but a pair of pants and opened the door to Crystal stood there in her outfit with a smile on her face.

"What'd you want?" Naruto asked gruffly, making sure to keep his eyes on her face and not elsewhere.

Her smile strained at his greeting, but her eyes flickered down over his body and it came back in full force. Despite his best efforts, Naruto couldn't quite help the light blush that came over his face which in turn caused Frost to laugh lightly.

"I just came to talk." She said, stepping into Naruto's room before he could say anything. Naruto himself couldn't even if he wanted to as he froze in shock as she brushed herself up against him, considering there was plenty of room for her to get by without doing so, it left Naruto a little unsure and flat-footed.

However, he quickly recovered and shut the door. "Come in then." Turning around Naruto watched as she lifted up his mask in curiosity.

"So, you're Black Hood?" She questioned, putting the hood with the face mask sewn in back on the drawer and ran her fingers over his full body suit.

"What's it to you?" He asked, leaning against the wall as Frost spared him a smile over her shoulder. "I stick to Gotham; you don't even go there. Doubt we'll run into each other in a long while."

"Oh, so that means you don't have plans to stick to just; Gotham?" Naruto remained silent which was all the answer she needed. "Anyway, I'm just interested. Vigilantes like you are pretty rare, especially ones that are so popular. Black Spider has been a vigilante for far longer than you have and he's nowhere near as popular. I think it kind of pisses him off."

The way she said the last part jokingly made Naruto's lips twitch up into a small smile.

"But the thing that catches my attention is how young you are?" Turning to fully face Naruto she leaned against the desk and leaned back against it in a way that brought attention to every inch of her partially covered body. "I mean, you can't be no older than what…nineteen?"

"Sixteen." Naruto corrected earning a small whistle.

"Jeez, younger than I thought."

"Only by a few years."

Smiling at the little byplay they had, Crystal pushed off the counter and walked towards Naruto in such a way that her hips swung a little more than they needed to. It brought a smile to her face when she noticed him struggling to keep his eyes on hers and not on her body, but his attempts only highlighted his darkening cheeks.

"Even so, you're younger than most would think. Especially considering what you do."

Naruto crossed his arms over his chest. "Robin's younger."

"Hmm, I'm sure." Frost hummed coming to a stop in front of Naruto and realised that without her heels on – she having removed them when studying his uniform – she was quite a bit smaller than him. "Doesn't change the fact that you are incredibly young."

"I doubt you're any older." Smirking, Frost reached out with cold fingers and ran her right index finger up a particularly long scar along his bicep, the muscle twitching under her cold touch.

"True." She concurred, her eyes running over the hard plains of his lean and muscular torso while using her free hand to trace some more scars. "I'm just surprised is all." Her fingers reached his shoulders and began tracking down his chest, marvelling at how warm his body felt. "Tell me something." Reaching his abdominals, she felt them twitch and tense under her fingertips in a way that she appreciated greatly and then looked up into his eyes with a devious smile on her face. "Are you a virgin?"

The random question caught Naruto off guard and his face burned in embarrassment. "W-what?"

Laughing, Crystal moved away making sure to out extra away into his hips. "I'll take that as a yes." Sitting on his bed, she sensually crossed one leg over the other in a slow manner. "I'm honestly surprised, you're a really good-looking guy so I'm shocked you are. So that leaves only one answer, there's someone else."

Naruto remained silent for a few moments, his face still red with embarrassment, but he was instead focusing on her words. "I'm not a virgin." He denied, trying to change the subject after she got a little close for comfort.

"Oh please, your face says it all." Frost waved her hand dismissively. "It's alright if you are, I mean I was a virgin up until I was seventeen and that's because my dad was an asshole. So, you've got nothing to be ashamed of." She then looked at Naruto closer, studying the change in his mood as well as the frown on his face.

She knew what that meant.

"So, it is a girl." He tensed and it gave Frost extra credence to her thoughts. "That's a shame, though by the way you're acting I'm guessing she either doesn't know about how you feel, or does and either ignored them or rejected you." Again, silence was her answer. "Okay, not giving me much to work with so I'm going for the former 'cos that's usually the case from my experience."

Going quiet, Crystal began to mull over her thoughts as she tried to figure out more about Naruto. Despite the calm and nonchalant exterior, he presented in the room that detained them earlier, he was still an emotional teenager who by his reactions to her, didn't have much experience with girls. So, his reactions to her left him a little vulnerable and she was seeing quite a lot.

It was quite obvious to her that this girl he liked either knew about what Naruto did and didn't approve of it. Whether that was because he killed people or because he risked his life or both, she didn't know. Or she didn't approve of Black Hood while unknowing that it was Naruto.

Either way, it left Naruto a little vulnerable.

Feeling her smile grow, Crystal stood to her feet once more attracting his attention. "So, Naruto, aren't you going to ask why I'm here?"

Naruto stared at her blankly. "I did and we're doing exactly what you came here to do; talking." He replied dryly causing Frost to sign in mock disappointment.

"Come on now, I mean ask me what I really came here for." He raised one eyebrow and then released a sigh of his own.

"Okay. Why did you come here, Frost?" He asked.

"That's simple really." With a smile on her face, Crystal reached for the clasp on the back of her neck and pulled it apart. Pulling other ends around her leotard started to come loose and with a coy smile, let both ends drop from her hands, her leotard falling from her body with it.

The wide eyed look on Naruto's face threatened to cause her face to split with how big her smile was.

Stepping out of her leotard which also removing her mid-thigh high stockings and boots, Frost stalked towards Naruto once more who was frozen in shock. "Does this answer your question?"

Unable to answer due to the sight before him, Naruto remained rooted to the spot as Frost took his hands and uncrossed them. Interlinking her fingers with his she led his hands round until they rested on her derrière and then ran her fingers up his arms while pressing her breasts against his chest.

A shiver ran down both their spines at the skin on skin contact, Naruto due to how cold her skin was and Crystal due to how warm his was.

"Just relax, Naruto." She whispered into his ear, admittedly using her powers to release a colder than normal breath that washed down his spine electing even more shivers. "It'll be fun." One hand moved up to rest on his shoulder while the other moved to his cheek, one nail dragging along it.

This it seems, snapped Naruto out of his state of confusion and he pushed Frost away.

"What are you doing?!" He snarled and while frowning at the rejection, Frost didn't let any of her annoyance show. "I'm not going to have sex with you!"

"And why not, hmm?" Frost asked, crossing her arms underneath her chest causing them to draw more attention. "You're a hot guy who happens to be a virgin I'm a hot girl who happens to not have had sex in a long while. This is just a way for us to blow off some steam."

Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but Frost had already closed the gap between them and placed one finger upon his lips.

"Face facts Naruto, if this girl you like doesn't like what you do now, then what makes you think that'll change? You're entering a world where death is a very real possibility, you really wanna die a virgin?" She listed off her questions and Naruto remained silent. "You can't keep pinning over a girl who is obviously not interested in you. I, on the other hand, am interested in you."

Again, she lifted one hand and dragged her finger across his cheek.

This time he didn't push her away.

"You really going to spend your whole life chasing after a girl who is probably out right now on a date or getting fucked by some other guy."

"She wouldn't!" Naruto angrily replied as he glared at Frost.

"You sure about that?" Frost quickly responded. "How sure are you that she isn't? You think because you know her and like her that she won't go out with other guys. Maybe you're right, maybe right now she isn't on a date with another guy. But what's to stop her tomorrow, or the day after that, or the day…"

"You've made your point." He cut her off as he felt his stomach twist in sadness at the thought of Barbara with someone else.

"I know." Frost said. "That's why I'm asking you to just, let go for a little while. Who's going to know about this besides me and you? I won't be able to tell this girl of yours because I don't even know who she is and you won't either. So, let's just have a little fun and stop worrying about what other people might think. Who knows, you might even like it?" She whispered suggestively with a seductive smile on her face.

Rubbing her knee up the side of Naruto's leg, Frost pulled his head down and pressed her lips against his. It was a brief meeting of lips and she slowly pulled away, nibbling on his bottom lip as she did so.

"See, that wasn't too bad." Taking his hand, Frost walked towards the bed, pulling Naruto with her and then pushed him onto it. "You don't really need to do much; I'll take the lead." Sensually, Crystal crawled up his body and straddled his stomach, leaning down to so that their lips were inches apart. "Or, you could surprise me."

Seeing that Naruto wasn't answering, she just kissed him once more while one of her hands moved down to play with the hem of his boxers.

"Come on, Black Hood." She whispered against his lips. "Surprise me."

Naruto gasped out when her cold digits wrapped around the length of his manhood. A sound that only made Frost laugh lightly, more than pleased to hear the sound she had elected.

"Mmm, you're bigger than I expected." She murmured, kissing him once more as she reached down with both hands to pull down his pants. While he had yet to do more than hesitantly reciprocate her kisses, he didn't stop her which was all Frost needed to know that she could continue.

Pushing up on her knees, she let his fully-erect cock flop onto his stomach and then with a smile, dropped her lower lips onto it. At the same time, she leaned back, bracing her hands on his lap, gently moving back and forth. The feelings it elected made Crystal let out a slight moan and she smiled when she saw the way he tried to keep his own noises of pleasure hidden behind a steely exterior.

However, the blush on his cheeks as well as the way his chest was rising a little quicker, she knew that she was having an effect.

Eventually, after a few more moments in which she continued to rub herself against him, Naruto started to move. He no longer felt the need to keep his noises of pleasure hidden and instead let out the grunts and groans of pleasure at the feeling of her lower lips massaging his manhood.

Soon after, his hands started to move, no longer remaining rigid by his side and instead moving to stroke up the side of her thighs and then to ass.

"See, now you're getting it." Frost breathlessly said.

Taking his hands in hers, she brought them to her chest and left them on her breasts. While unsure what to do at first, Naruto just did what he felt he should and just began to squeeze them.

Frost let out a small moan as Naruto began to grope her breasts. He was inexperienced and just squeezing them, but he was getting better.

Bringing her movements to a stop, Frost leaned down, pulling Naruto up to her into a sitting position and kissed him deeply. He returned the kiss though it was sloppy on the account of being inexperienced.

Pulling away, she then directed Naruto's head down and without even needing to tell him, Naruto latched his lips on her left nipple. Gasping at the warmth of his breath, Frost laughed and began to rub her hips against him once more.

Starting to gain some more confidence, Naruto took one hand to her free breast while his other hand moves down to grip her ass. It proved to be good handhold which Naruto used to aid her with her movements.

A few more minutes later and Naruto felt his end starting to come and by the way, Frosts hands tightened around his neck, she was too.

"Mmmmm." A low moan escaped from Frosts lips as her body was wracked with pleasure, Naruto's own sounds muffled by his position in her breasts. "That was good, I'm surprised." She murmured appreciatively, loosening her grip on his head allowing him to pull away.

Breathing heavily, Naruto looked up to see Frost staring down at him with a smile on her face. A light blush was on her cheeks and she was breathing a little heavy, but by the look in her eyes, Naruto had the feeling they weren't done just yet. Surprisingly, he was actually excited by this.

The guilt he felt at doing this with Killer Frost of all people had lessened as they had gotten further into it. Now, all he wanted was for things to continue.

Leaning forwards, Naruto spun them around and with his hold on her hips, pressed his still hard manhood against her pussy. "Well, well, well. Look who's decided to take some action." Just as Frost went to open her mouth to say something else, Naruto kissed her. Smiling against his lips, Frost wrapped one leg around his waist while twisting her hips in a way that sent a rush of pleasure down both their spines.

"Do you always keep talking?" He asked.

"Only when someone's boring me." She shot back cheekily gaining a half-hearted glare from the blonde. "Why don't you stop being a pussy and fuck me." Reaching down, Naruto gripped his cock and positioned himself at her wet lower lips and Frost only gave him a cocky smirk.

Slowly, Naruto pushed forwards easing himself into her in order to let him grow used to the feeling of how she felt inside. Contrary to his belief, Crystal wasn't actually cold inside like her body was outside and in fact, she felt slightly hotter than the average person. Not as much as his own internal body temperature, but enough that it was noticeable.

As he pushed himself further and further into her wet cavern, Naruto couldn't help but release a groan of pleasure at the feeling of her inner muscles massaging him.

A minute later and Frost could barely contain the moans escaping her mouth as Naruto repeatedly thrust in and out of her. Each time he fully sheathed himself in her, his admittedly bigger than normal size hitting deeper than most of her previous partners had done so.

Even with his thrusts being basic, his size and the speed in which he was thrusting in and out of her was enough to make up for his amateurish movements. Her legs, wrapped around his waist tensed up helping to bring him deeper into her core while she gripped the sheets tightly.

Naruto himself was struggling to hold off his impending orgasm as he thrust in and out of her. His hands resting beside her head as he moved his hips back and forth, her legs squeezing to bring him deeper into her.

But much like before, he couldn't hold off forever and Frost knew this. She could feel him twitching inside of her and she didn't fancy getting pregnant or simply running the risk of it. "Pull out, mmm." She moaned out as Naruto who had steadily being learning what she did and didn't like through the course of their session. "When you're, mmm, close." Not able to say anything as he focused on the task at hand, Naruto instead just nodded his head sharply while he picked up his speed.

The sudden increase in speed of Naruto's thrusts had Frost unable to fully focus on anything. But there was a short moment of clarity within her mind as she gripped the bedsheets to the point of nearly ripping them. Here she was, Killer Frost being fucked by Gotham's newest and most infamous vigilante, Black Hood.

And she loved every second of it.

**A/N: So, yea, Naruto and Crystal Frost hooked up and had sex and Naruto also lost his V-card. Go on Naruto! Also, the suicide squad has being introduced with Naruto being a member so should be interesting to see how that works. **

**There should only be about another two chapters after this in which case, the arc will be finished so for those of you who are wondering when the Young Justice season 1 begins, there's only one arc after this one. After that, the first two episodes will be made into an entirely separate arc. So, in reality, there's only about two arcs left that will be no more than three chapters at most, possibly four.**

**Now, onto the questions:**

**Storylover213: Yes, its going to be Naruto x Barbara x Koriand'r (Starfire) x Kara (Supergirl). But it wo't be the usual harem so if thats what your worried is going to happen then don't worry because it won't.**

**hrbeamer: Yea I got that, no Killer Croc but there is King Shark.**

**RedDragonRaven: He's going to have a multitude of weapons including, shuriken, guns, knives, katanas and a staff. He'll probably have a few more but he wont have them all on him at one time, instead selecting his weapons based on the mission. As for Starfire and Supergirl, the former will be introduced between thetimeskil of season 1 and 2 of YJ. As for Supergirl, she won't be introduced until a while after that because she's not even on earth yet.**

**Adam2point4: No ninjutsu as such, but I will recreate a few techniques using other means. As for power scaling, yes it is broken but for a story that makes it very difficult to actually write a proper story if there is no proper power scale. As for Naruto's feats, the number of DC characters who can do the same is laughably high. Though you are right, Naruto is a dangerous individual to fight and I'm not denying that.**

**Guest: Yes, and thats post-crisis, pre-crisis feats are even more insane. You're right it would be impractical to move at that speed so I look at this way. Depending on how durable the individual they fight, they lower their own strength and speed in accordance. Take Captain Cold and Flash for example. Flash should be able to beat him before Captain Cold can even see him coming. But if you've watched the Tv show, the Boys - if not I definitely recommend watching it - when A-Train runs through the main guys girlfriend she explodes. So they reduce the speed based on who they fight.**

**As for Sage mode, the Third Raikage is Light speed at a push, even so, we don't know how much Sage Mode would help. There's no denying it would, but how much? Green Lantern's don't need to go normal speed, in fights they have contended with the likes of Flash, Wonder Womans and Superman in fights that were beyong the speed of light, faster than the Raikage can move.**

**Then there's chakra, its a mix of physical and spiritual, but nowhere is it stated that magic is either of those. Superman is vulnerable to magic, Chakra is much like Chi or Ki in the sense it spiritual. Its not like magic and Superman is only vulnerable to magic not spiritual energies. But even so, if Superman was vulnerable to Chakra, it still wouldn't mean much. Superman has fought many powerful beings who used magic and has taken spells that are stronger than anything Naruto can do and still got up for more.**

**I love Naruto's characters and he inspired me when I grew up and believe me, I would love for Naruto to be much higher up on my list. Even when my friend - a real Naruto geek, more so than me - kept on listing all of his techniques and abilities in comparison to DC characters' there are a lot of characters we just couldn't find a way for him to beat. More than I would have liked.**

**Vizard890: Believe me I'm just as confused as you. Seriously, how do you attempt to create a serum that makes you immune to the truth serum, only to make you a superhuman? It baffles the mind.**

**Iamnothere12: I know and I'm not denying that. I love fics were Naruto fucks with DC, but in the context of my fic where I'm showing how powerful DC characters are and how powerful Naruto needs to become, theres a huge gap. Especially when people incorrectly believe that Naruto could fuck over the vast majority of characters in DC like he's taking a walk in the park and tell me how I'm disrespecting Naruto's character by making him so weak. It got me annoyed and I decided to burst their bubble by showing them how powerful guys like the Green Lantern's are.**

**tamagat: I do actually have plans to give her and unpowered heroes like Nightwing power boosts later on. As for Deathstroke and his interest in Naruto. It is a mystery for now, but no, its not to do with his parents or him being friends with them. Kushina and Minato were ordinary people who's main friend was Jim Gordon and his family.**

**K1B4ND: Don't worry, Naruto won't just use a blade. He will use a lot of weapons, if you want to know read my response to RedDragonRaven above.**

**TehStorm: Yep it was a dick move and was done on purpose. Barbara is still a teenager despite being Batgirl, a hormonal teenage girl who is in love with her best friend who also happens to be a killer, even if he does it for a good reason. She lashed out and regretted it instantly. I wanted to show that Barbara isn't perfect and can be petty and dickish so that was it.**

**Vongola Ninja: Don't worry, I will definitely give reasons as to why he got them. As for relationships, it will definitely be trouble in paradise. I won't go into detail about the problems, just know there will be problems. Even Naruto and Koriand'r will have problems.**

**Ado Teixeire: No problem, when I put that I expected a response. For my reasoning, look at my response to the Guest above. Should help cover some of the confusion and explain why I ranked Naruto so low.**

**SpencerDorman: That's true and I admit I didn't consider that however, the Green Lantern have still shown the ability to match the likes of Superman, Flash and other fast beings who have a number of fast, in atmosphere feats beyond anything Naruto has shown. And thank you.**

**Coleslawter14: Absolutely not, no Bruce/Barbara sex scene. That was both wrong and pissed me off when ai saw it. So, that's never happening, but the paralysis is because it's a pivotal character moment for Barbara.**

**Issexwithyourcloneincest: Thank god, someone finally understands what I'm saying. You won't believe the amount of PMs I've got from Naruto fans thinking I'm shitting on Naruto by making him so weak. 8 wasn't even going to bring it up, but when people like them kept saying I was making Naruto weak in comparison to his canon self and it being an insult, I decided to burst their little bubble and they couldn't handle the truth. Also, love your username, it certainly raises some questions that I just need answering now, so thank you for that.**

**niichristou: No, after this arc, Naruto's whole character while go through a little fuck up due to outside interference. Believe me, it is not just so I can have Naruto fit into the YJ cast, but because of a later arc I have planned out. And yes, eventually when things get all apocalyptic Naruto will get a team and he will work with other teams as well.**

**Spacecore94: Naruto and the girls will come to a point where they need to take a break from one another. They will get back together eventually, but it will be a break that could range from a couple of days to years.**

**uchihaNaruto247: Yes, unless Nekron decides to revive him for his Black Lantern corp. and that whole arc will happen but I'm undecided on who will be revived as a member of the Black Lantern Corp.**

**Yohnos: Read my response to TehStorm, should explain why Barbara dis what she did. And yes, she will be but her redemption arc is still a long way away.**

**Bladewolf101: Not those characters in general, but Killer Frost and maybe a few others yes. When Naruto and Barbara, Starfire or Supergirl are on a break, like most tend to do they go elsewhere (believe me its more common than you might think) so Naruto will do the same, just purely physical though there might be some one-sided feelings in some cases. As for appearances, I'm not bothered how you envision them, I like to let you choose what they look like and the only time that changes is when I actually write a description of what they look like.**

**LightninXX: No, there is actually one storyline with Jason Todd where his parents where acrobats known as the Flying Todds and they were killed by Killer Croc. That's the Jason Todd storyline I've gone for.**

**Yakuza2010: A good idea and I might make mention of that, but I plan to skim over the whole Terror Twins arc. I'm not planning to have Naruto involved in every episode and so some episodes I'll skip entirely, make brief mentions of in later episodes while in others Naruto will be going off and doing his own thing. This is mostly because I plan to have the members of the Team develop not only in terms of powers but also as characters and there are a few episodes that emphasis this point. **

**Unlike some authors who are too unsure about letting other characters develop and sometimes seem scared about people forgetting a fic is a Naruto crossover and as a result, have Naruto involved in everything that happens. Which takes away from the character development that the main cast of YJ go through in some of those episodes. **

**Poke'boy24: I do plan to have Galate make an appearance, but Power Girl will not exist in this universe. She will exist in the multiverse, but will not make an appearance in this Universe. **

**Vlad-reaper: Please do, I'm really glad when people tell me that I inspire them to right stories. So I would definitely like you to let me know if you do.**

**howclay: Yes, I do plan to have it have an impact in the future. But not straight away, it will come up again in the next few chapters, but not right away. Naruto is currently spending his time fighting crime practically 24/7 and so isn't really listening to the rumours that's going around. Plus, he's rarely ventured out from East End to hear the said rumours, but someone has and they will use it for that exact purpose.**

**As for the Naruto/Frost aspect, I plan to keep out how it is mostly because what happened is similar to a one-night stand. I'm in university and on night outs there's a few times where I've literally met a girl, talked to them and danced with them for a few minutes before heading back to theirs or mine. There both teenagers and things like this happen. Sudden? Yes, but uncommon? Not really, things like this happen a lot in reality.**

**Guest: I plan to include a lot of popular DC comic storylines, as well games and animated movies. The Court of Owls arc was inspired and based off the events that took place in Batman vs Robin animated movie. This Arkham Assault arc is based off the game and animated movie, Batman: Assault on Arkham. There will be plenty of adaptations included in my story. **

**SurvivalHorror: Yes, I won't tell what exactly because that will spoil some of the future plot, but I do have plans to include as much content from DC games, movies, shows and comics (all) as I can while making a cohesive plot that has a beginning and end point. **

**NoobDude: Naruto does have skill with daggers and I did plan to give him a sword but that would be a secondary weapon. His primary weapon and the one he's most skilled in will be a staff. I started watching Fate/Stay Night again and Lancer is just a beast. **

**ninjafanhein: Yes, that's true but Naruto has never shown any intellect on par with Shikamaru and I'm not going to bend the truth so that he could be on par with the powers of DC. I'm taking what Naruto has shown ability wise in manga and anime, no what ifs or anything like that. So your Shikamaru with the power of Kaguya, while yes, terrifying, does not exist. Therefore I cannot make that happen.**

**Sultan Asil Arslan: To be honest I don't even know if that's possible however it is possible for people to wield the power of the Emotional Spectrum without a Lantern ring. The Lantern rings just make it easier to access and use. Naruto's use of the Lantern ring will be a little different than other Lantern users mostly because of his unique powers and his magical knowledge.**

**nlichristou: There will be a few episodes where I skip over entirely, like the Happy Harbour with Mister Twister and the team first starting to work together. In episodes like that, Naruto will either be doing something else entirely or, in the case where episodes are focused on individual characters developments, like the Terror Twins with M'gann and Superboy's relationship starting, the one where Aqualad returns to Atlantis and so on, will be skipped over entirely. This is because I'm not going to have Naruto in every episode just so I can cover every episode. Some of those episodes are focused around the individual development of certain characters and by including Naruto in said development, I take it away from those characters. **

**Hope that clears up any confusion and if not, please leave a review.**


	16. Chapter XIV - Assault on Arkham

**Injustice: The Path to Hell.**

**Book 1: A Journeys Beginning.**

**Chapter XIV – Assault on Arkham**

**A/N: Just to remind that from this point on I will be updating every two weeks on Friday so updates will be slower, but hopefully I do plan to eventually make updates a little quicker I can, it all depends on how quickly I get back into writing.**

"Normal Speech."

_'Normal Thought.'_

**"Demon Speech."**

**_'Demon Thought.'_**

_Location/Time_

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Friday 1st May, 03:30._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City,_

_Gotham Heights._

The streets of Gotham were unusually empty at this time of day. Most were comfortably asleep in bed, content to live in their dream world's as an escape from the cruel grasp of reality.

As a result, it was quiet, not a soul in sight.

Or it should have been.

Alas it was not meant to be, the sound of breaking glass followed by a screeching alarm broke the silence and tranquility. It came from a nearby doll shop as a woman dressed in a red and black jester costume, hat included broke the window by throwing a nearby garbage can through it.

Laughing cheerfully, Harley Quinn jumped inside and began to look through the store for one doll in particular. Only for her search to be in vain and so, angry at her failure picked up one doll by its twin ponytails and ripped it clean in half.

"You know where he hide it, don't you?" The gravelly voice of Gotham's Dark Knight spoke up from the shadows behind her and Harley slowly turned around with eyes wide. Almost like a child who had been caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

"Uh oh." She said looking to see Batman walking towards her.

"Where is it, Harley?" Batman was in no mood for games, she could tell that much and she could guess why. From what she could recall, Amanda had talked about how the Joker had a dirty bomb in the city, which may also contain parts of the Scarecrow's Fearless Toxin as well.

Still, Harley didn't know where it was and she technically didn't know much about it either. "No idea what you're talking about." She whined angrily like a petulant child before throwing a number of dolls at her feet at him. Each one bouncing off Batman's body as he continued to walk towards her unbothered by her 'weapons.'

As he came closer, Harley was once again reminded of how tall the Batman was and instead of cowering in fear like some criminals did, she instead rose up to her feet to meet him face to face.

There was a brief moment of silence before Harley used the opportunity to hit him with the doll in her hand. Surprisingly, it actually caused the Batman to stumble as blood came from his still healing nose. "Back off, Bats!" She said threateningly, whipping out her extendable baton to full length.

Batman himself just looked at her with narrowed eyes, very aware that with his current bodies limitations due to not being fully healed, he would have to be careful.

A brief lull formed that was quickly broken when Batman threw a few Batarangs at Harley who used her great flexibility to lean back. While she did escape unharmed, part of her outfit was cut off and she didn't like that one bit.

With a shout of anger, she spun on her heel lashing out with a kick that Batman couldn't quite avoid. Yet he recovered quickly avoiding the next few swipes from her baton however a jumping roundhouse kick snuck through his guard and slammed into his face.

Grunting, Batman righted his footing and pushed off rushing to Harley who went to meet his charge with a high-pitched yell.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Friday 1st May, 4:30._

_New Jersey, _

_Gotham City,_

_Arkham Asylum._

Tugging at the collar of his blue uniform, Naruto released an irritated sigh as he pushed a metal stretcher bed containing a body bag. "Ah come on, lad don't be all bloody moody because you lost the bet." George Harkness joked as they walked down the corridors to the morgue.

"Shut up." Naruto snapped angrily causing Georges smile to only grow wider. The reason for his anger was simple, Naruto had drawn the short straw and was forced to work alongside Captain Boomerang instead of infiltrating through the kitchen staff, Eric had won that draw. It was safe to say that Naruto understood exactly why Floyd didn't like George and it was because they guy just wouldn't shut up talking.

Before George could respond with a comment which would only make the already sour Naruto even more annoyed, one of the guards stepped forwards. "Hold it right there." He ordered as they came to a stop at the entrance to the morgue. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Delivering a body to the morgue." George said in a way that conveyed both mocking sarcasm and complete seriousness at the same time. So much so, that the guard didn't know whether to be annoyed or sheepish and instead remained entirely serious.

The guard looked to the man behind the desk who shook his head.

"We haven't received any word of a body needing to be taken to the morgue, I'm afraid you can't come through here." The guard informed as another two move into position, there hands resting dangerously upon their submachine guns, a not so subtle sign of warning.

_'Guess that means Deadshot's running a little behind.'_ Naruto thought noticing the slight smile/scowl on Georges face as he realised what this meant. _'Which is just what we needed, now we're drawing attention to ourselves. Come on, Deadshot, hurry up.'_ Looking around, Naruto noticed another three guards moving up behind them intent on cutting off their escape.

"Come on, look at it, they're obviously dead!" George exclaimed while hitting the head of the body with his fist.

_'She'll kill you for that.'_ Naruto winced knowing that Frost wouldn't like that at all and he wouldn't stop her. In fact, if George continued to be annoying, Naruto would help her.

The guards watched him unamused by his words and the lead guard just nodded his head towards one of the others behind him. They walked forwards with a pad in one hand and raised it to the body. There was a tense few seconds before the guard stepped back.

"They're dead." He informed and Naruto fought to keep himself from showing how impressed he was from his face. Crystals internal body temperature was just above natural, but it was masked by the coldness of her skin so to sensors she appeared for all intents and purposes, as dead. Or so she had said, Naruto hadn't quite fully believed it until now.

"Alright." The lead guard nodded his head. "Look, even so I can't let you through. We haven't received word that anyone needed taking to the morgue and we can't break protocol."

"That doesn't make sense." Naruto spoke up. "We were told specifically to bring this body down here. You should have received word that we were coming."

The lead guard shrugged his shoulder. "We haven't received any news, so I'm afraid I can't let you in." He then looked Naruto up and down with his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You know, you look awfully young."

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "Yea, I get that a lot. I'm twenty-two but people keep saying I'm younger. It makes it really annoying when I go out for a few beers and keeping on getting asked for my ID." Naruto joked and the lead guard gave a short laugh, his suspicions put at ease.

"Yea, I imagine that would be a problem."

"Sir, we've just got word through, they're good to go." The guy behind the reception said and the lead guard walked over to see.

"About bloody time." George muttered annoyed, only Naruto understanding who that was really aimed at. Naruto himself was taking note of the guards that were around him, most had stepped back putting more space between them all and while it certainly put Naruto at ease, he still didn't like how they were holding their guns. It made him nervous and he didn't like to feel like that.

"Sorry about that." The lead guard said as one of his comrades pressed a button on a panel allowing the door to open. "The system must have had a glitch."

"No worries." Naruto replied before George could open his mouth and piss off the guards. "I understand." Pushing the stretcher into the morgue, Naruto carefully made sure to keep his head down as to avoid getting his face caught in any camera. It certainly wasn't easy with the cameras positioned in such a way to capture those images, but Naruto certainly did his best.

While Naruto pushed the stretcher up to the wall, assisting one of the workers with carrying Frost's prone body onto the dissecting table, George quickly signed a form with a smile on his face. _'Stop smirking, you idiot. You look like a guys who's up to no good.'_

"Let's see what goodies we've got." The doctor said pulling his latex gloves tight before unzipping the bag.

Naruto himself was leaning against the side of the wall, arms crossed over his chest as he watched the man's surprised look, quickly turn into a leer upon seeing the naked body of Crystal.

Though he quickly jerked away in shock when her eyes opened. "Oh shit!" He exclaimed, his voice rising a little in pitch. Frost herself just reached our gripping his shirt and pulling him in for a kiss, his shocked and horrified whimpers quickly being silenced.

His hands that were raised in a moment of instinctive shock, quickly fell limp by his side as his face iced over, leaving Naruto shocked and a little worried. _'That could have been me.'_ A traitorous part of his mind whispered as he thought back to the pleasurable night he and Frost had. Safe to say neither got much sleep, Naruto's physical enhancements due to the serum allowing him to keep going to satisfy both his and Frosts great sexual needs.

Releasing the man with a smile, Frost rose off the bed, the worker dropping to the ground, his head shattering into tiny fragments of ice as it did so.. Her naked chest still on view for a few short seconds as she stalked towards George and the other morgue worker. The distraction of seeing his fellow worker being killed and the sight of Frost in her naked glory left the man unable to move, something George used to his advantage.

A quick punch later and the morgue worker dropped to the ground unconscious and he turned to Frost with a smirk. Naruto felt his own lips twitch upwards at the sight of Frost's glare, he knew exactly what would happen next and he was proved to be right.

Her leg swung up, straight into George's ball and he collapsed to the ground in heap with a cry of pain. "My gullies!"

"That's payback, dumbass." Stepping over his fallen body, Frost walked over towards the door Naruto was told by. It was a little back entrance leading to the sewers, which was exactly where they needed to be. "Walk it off, Captain Kangaroo." She spat out before turning to Naruto, her scowl switching into an alluring smile. "Come on, lover boy. We've got work to do." She teased, blowing him a kiss before walking out the door.

Naruto himself looked to see George glaring at her back. "You asked for that." He said before following Killer Frost out into the corridor. "So, lover boy?"

"Meh, couldn't think of much else. Besides," she moved in front of Naruto, one hand on his chest. "It suits you." She teased and Naruto simply shook his head and continued to walk down the corridor, both ignoring George's confused mumbling about the two of them.

"Come on, we haven't got much time. Deadshot and Harley should nearly be at the rendezvous point. Black Spider and King Shark shouldn't be too far behind either." That's when they heard the sound of an explosion. "Scratch that, looks like Eric's already making his move."

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Friday 1st May, 4:45._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City, _

_Arkham Asylum._

Entering into a small open chamber with numerous large pipes disappearing into the floor, Naruto, Crystal and George looked around to see that they were the first ones here. Moving forwards to the centre were there was a large opening in the floor, with criss-crossing bars across it.

"Well, looks we're the first ones here." George pointed out.

Crouching down, Naruto pulled at the bars and managed to lift his side up slightly. Even so, his muscles strained and with a grunt, Naruto let the bars drop down with a loud thud.

Stumbling back, Naruto dropped to his knees breathing heavily. "Those bars are heavier than I thought they would be." He muttered and that's when they heard movement in the pipes.

A small hatch opened up and out stepped Eric Needelham dressed as chef. "I'm surprised you didn't get here sooner." Frost said and Eric ignored her instead moving to look down at the bars and then at Naruto.

"How heavy are they?"

"Heavy." Naruto answered. "It'll take a lot of strength to lift them up, probably the whole team to lift this up." Nodding his head, Eric gripped the bars and tried himself only him o barely make them budge.

"You're right. Let us all try." He suggested though it came out as more of an order.

As Killer Frost and Harkness moved over, Naruto had an idea. "Wait." He then looked at Frost. "Freeze it."

"For you, lover boy." She smirked and leaned down, resting both hands on the bars lightly. "Anything." Out from her hands, ice rushed forth covering the entirety of the beams in a thick, blue hue and then, she rose to her feet while checking her nails. Making such great power seem effortless and almost boring in its nature.

Shaking his head at just how dangerous her power could be, Naruto raised one foot and stomped on the bars and they shattered in a shower of ice. Each of the fragments splashing into the water below.

The sound of a door opening had them turn to see Floyd and Harley walking towards them.

"You're late." Eric said shortly causing Floyd's frown to deepen.

"We ran into her ex." Coming to a stop he looked down to see that there was no sign of King Shark. "Where is he, he was meant to be here by now?"

Naruto remained silent, having moved to sit against one of the pipes as they waited patiently for King Shark to arrive. That was until he picked up on the sound of footsteps and he looked to Frost who was stood nearby.

"We've got company." He told her and she looked at him curiously.

"How many?"

"Just one." He answered before rising to his feet. Moving quickly he headed towards the entrance and stood by the wall. The rest were too busy arguing amongst themselves, with Floyd trying to act as a mediator. Harley and George both getting on Eric's last nerves and so his movements were ignored.

As the security guard entered the room, Naruto just gripped hold of the front of his uniform and pinned him against the wall. The sound of the guard slamming into it caught the attention of the rest of the team who looked to see what was happening.

However, Naruto had already knocked him out with a punch were the guard fell to the ground unconscious.

"Well ain't that just great." George accurately put. "What are we going to do with him?"

Floyd was silent for a few moments until a bag burst from the sewers and landed on the floor with a dull thud. Knowing that they had no choice, Floyd just nodded his head to Naruto who reluctantly picked up the body and threw him into the water. There was large amount of thrashing and bubbles, before the blue water was stained red with blood.

Naruto averted his eyes from the sight. While he knew that a large number of those working here were corrupt, he had no idea of knowing who was and wasn't. For all he knew, the guy he had just killed could have been completely innocent and one of the few good guys. However, he had no idea if that was the truth and in this situation, his survival was paramount. If it meant killing the guards of Arkham, he would do so, if he died then he wouldn't be able to save those he cared for.

Looking away from the sight of King Shark rising from the water, a dismembered arm being chewed in its mouth, Naruto moved to the bag and unzipped it revealed their actual uniforms. Taking his Black Hood uniform, Naruto began to get changed, making sure to check the two knives as well as the guns. Each had a full clip in with a few additional clips provided.

Pulling on the final part of his outfit, his gloves, Naruto looked around to see that the others were almost done as well, with only King Shark and Killer Frost having already been ready.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Friday 1st May, 5:15._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City, _

_Arkham Asylum._

The head of security at Arkham looked at the numerous monitors pertaining to the security of Arkham. His eyes flickered across them with a surly frown on his face as he looked at one monitor showing the kitchen. It had, as of half an hour ago being rocked with a fire that had knocked out some power in that wing.

Luckily, they had been able to divert power to keep all the inmates in their cells. _'They're not getting out on my watch.'_He had once being a lowly security officer at Arkham who had admittedly being just as corrupt as the rest. However, once Batman saved his son he had vowed to make a difference.

He had done as well as one could expect considering over three quarters of his staff were just as bad as he used to be and for the most part, were worse. So while there we're still breakouts, he had at least managed to limit the amount, but even then that wasn't saying much.

"Have we managed to contain the kitchen fire?" He asked.

"Yes sir." One of his junior offices said and with a nod, the head of security turned to leave the room. He wanted to go and check on all the prison cells just incase. However, when he went open the door it burst open as King Shark charged through.

With a cry, the head of security fell to the ground unconscious, only managing to see the sight of Captain Boomerang throwing his namesake at the remaining guards and no doubt knocking them unconscious as well.

Stepping into the room, Naruto headed towards the computer while listening to Floyd talk to Amanda.

"Lawton." Amanda called and Deadshot stopped where he was, raising one hand to his ear.

"What?" Pulling out a chair, Naruto sat down scrolling through to find the information he was looking for.

"GPS has you in the main security hub." Naruto almost shook his head at how desperate Amanda was to be in control at all times, yet in a way she had a right to be that desperate. After all, Naruto had no plans to remain under her thumb and he doubted any of the others did. "What's going on?"

Naruto tuned out the rest as he pulled up an image of the Riddler in his cell. _'There you are.'_

"So you found him." Crystal whispered as she pulled up a chair to look at the screen, both legs resting on the desk. Naruto nodded his head and began typing into the computer once more pulling up an image of Arkham Asylum with a blinking red light showcasing where Riddler's cell was.

"Now we know where he is." Frost smiled viciously.

Deadshot and the rest of the team walked past a few minutes later, they having decided to play yesterday's footage on a loop in order to keep Batman from discovering them. "Frost, Black Hood, move your ass." He ordered and both did so, Naruto taking a few more seconds to memorise the location.

**-X- Line Break -X- **

_Friday 1st May, 5:20._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City, _

_Arkham Asylum._

Stepping out into the yard, the Suicide Squad moved quickly to hide behind a nearby wall as they looked to see four towers, two on either side lining it. Lights moving across as to illuminate the ground, making stealth extremely difficult.

"Top priority are those towers." Deadshot informed as he leaned back avoiding being caught in the light.

Most of the team, especially King Shark were crouched down in order to make themselves smaller and avoid being seen. "I can scale them." Black Spider informed with certainty.

However, Deadshot had other plans. "No time." Stepping out with his wrist mounted guns raised, he took aim. But just as he went to shoot, Captain Boomerang shoved up to his side with a cocky smirk on his face.

"You do two, I'll do two." It took every ounce of will Naruto had not to smack his face at the sheer stupidity of having a pissing contest at this moment in time. By the tense shoulders of Black Spider, he shared Naruto's opinion.

Despite this, Deadshot didn't argue. "Fine, on my mark." Raising his wrist-mounted guns once more, Deadshot took a calming breath while Captain Boomerang shifted his footing in preparation. "Now!" Both of them fired, Deadshots two bullets ripping through the air and killing his two targets in quick succession. The boomerangs on the other hand weren't as a effective.

They were slower and while one took out the guard straight away. The second was not so lucky as the guard leaned down to rest against the bars, the boomerang sailing over his head.

"You missed." Deadshot said, turning to face Captain Boomerang who just smirked.

"Wait for it." And they did, Naruto making out the sight of the guard seeing the other guards unconscious and reaching for his radio.

"Patrol, I need a sweep of the yard." Then the boomerang came back knocking him unconscious, but it was too late

"Boom!" Captain Boomerang exclaimed as he caught his boomerang. "In your face."

Deadshot's patience snapped then as he pushed Captain Boomerang away. "He got to his walkie. I'd score that a miss, you two bit C-lister." Stumbling back, Captain Boomerang narrowed his eyes in anger and rushed forwards.

"That's it!" He yelled.

Naruto was already in motion, and pulled Deadshot back while lashing out with a kick to Harkness' stomach sending him to the ground.

Lowering his leg, Naruto looked to Deadshot with a frown. "That's enough. This isn't the time or the place for you two to have your little pissing contest." There was a tense few moments before Deadshot stepped back, however George took a little longer.

"Boys, we got company." Harley called and they all looked to see a large squadron of guards rushing down the yard. Even so, it took Captain Boomerang a few more moments before he too relented.

"Finally, some action." King Shark smiled happily as he slammed his fist into his open palm and charged forwards despite Deadshots cries for him to stop. But it was too late and in a matter of seconds was already spotted and while the guards went to fire at him, he was already on them. His large fists lashing out with such strengths that the guards were sent flying and landed upon the ground meters away in a broken heap.

"So much for low profile." Deadshot irritably sighed as he and the rest of the team charged forwards.

Pulling ahead, Naruto used his claws to cut cleanly through the gun of one guard who had attempted to fire at Black Spider. He then swung round with a roundhouse kick, driving it and the guard down into the ground headfirst.

Gripping the guards leg, Naruto chucked him at another group of guards who had taken aim at him, each of them hesitating just enough for Naruto to close the distance between them. In short order they were taken down with quick and powerful punches, while cutting the gun of the third man in half.

Unlike before, Naruto was no longer alone and as result wasn't being forced to fight off other twenty people on his own. Instead, the guards had been forced to break formation and spread out, something that suited Naruto perfectly as he moved around the yard picking off stragglers with ease.

And unlike before, he was no longer restricted by a small room and instead was able to fully move about quite easily.

Lifting the body of one guard, Naruto let the bullets riddle into the dead man's body while taking out his own gun and firing at a few of the guards, five bullets later and four guards fell to the ground dead. Though there was still a small group the entry way of the farthest tower.

"Deadshot!" Naruto called already moving forwards. "Cover me!" The bullets that soared through the air were accurate and took out three of the guards before they could even take cover. However, two managed to survive and were forced to hide as Deadshot continued to open fire on them. Killer Frost erecting a small wall of ice to cover Deadshots flank while she in turn fired off a number of spikes that impaled a small group of guards.

As he neared the door, Naruto slid across the ground, his gun already pulled out and as soon as he passed the threshold, fired. The guard closest to the door hadn't been able to react in time and so was killed, the second managed to get a little lucky and only received a bullet wound to the shoulder.

Scrapping his claws along the ground, Naruto came to a stop and then pushed off, spear tackling the guard into the wall and stabbed his claws into the man's neck. "I'm sorry." He whispered as he stood up. Much like before, Naruto was unsure which of the guys he was calling were corrupt and which ones weren't.

Unlike with criminals it wasn't so easy and as a result, Naruto felt sick. But he also knew that he had to continue otherwise, he would die and that he would not allow. Not while there were things he still needed to do.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Friday 1st May, 5:30._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City, _

_Gotham Heights._

Watching as Batman quickly finished off a small group of criminals, Batgirl looked up at the sky in thought. Since Naruto's disappearance there had been no sign of him at all, in fact there had been no one who had seen a thing. Whoever had taken Naruto were extremely skilled and had made sure to leave no witnesses that could testify against them.

It was certainly a worrying thought.

But even more so was the fact that Harley had been extremely happy to get caught. She was worried about Naruto, but the Joker's dirty bomb was a cause for more concern. Harley despite what she had told Batman in their fight, seemed to be far too happy to be caught. Especially considering that the Joker was already being held there.

Barbara wouldn't be surprised if this was all some elaborate ploy by the Joker and it worried her because she couldn't figure out what his plan was. Batman's current impatience and sour mood all boiled down to the simple fact that he was in the same boat as her.

He didn't know what the Joker was planning.

And like most times when that was the case, a lot of people could get hurt.

"Barbara." Dicks voice sounded through the commlink.

"Yea?"

"I looked into Arkham like you said and it turns out that they had a yellow alert at 4:35." Barbara nodded her head though Dick couldn't see it. "Since then, theres been nothing and I've looked at the security cameras and everything looks fine."

"Okay, thank you for looking." However, just as Barbara went to focus on Batman who was finishing off the last two thugs, Dick spoke once more.

"I wasn't done, Barbara." Dick said amusedly, though there was also a sense of urgency when he spoke. "Like I said, everything looked fine until I started to realise that the guys working at Arkham tonight as shown by the security cameras, don't work on a Friday."

There was silence as Dick allowed Barbara to truly understand what he was saying.

"Shit!" She cursed and that's when Batman landed on the roof having used a grappling hook to bring him up onto the roof she was on. "Thanks, Robin. There's a problem at Arkham." No other words needed to be said as she directed the last part at Batman. Both of them quickly rushing towards Arkham while Batman called for the Batmobile.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Friday 1st May, 5:40._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City, _

_Arkham Asylum._

"Firefly. Killer Moth. Maxie Zeus." King Shark listed as he looked at the names listed on the side of the wooden containers. A little ways a way, Naruto was looking at a few other nameless crates. Each of them containing a few knives and guns, but not much else. Even then, he still had to question why they had them locked away here instead of a more secure location. "Never heard of any of these tools."

Looking over when he heard a thud, he saw Killer Frost looking into one crate she had opened with a look of childlike excitement on her face. "Mr. Freeze's gun. Score~." She attempted to pick it up only for it to prove too heavy for her.

Snorting as she dropped it, he just watched in amusement as King Shark moved forwards to pick it up easily with one hand. Frost watching and then taking it when he presented it to her. She struggled again, but eventually managed to alter her stance enough to be able to hold it comfortably. It was an awkward stance that would eventually cause serious damage, but it was amusing nonetheless.

"Raise your back a bit more and shift your back foot to the left just slightly." Naruto suggested and both King Shark and Frost looked to him.

Taking his words of advice on board, Frost did as he said and found herself able to lift it a bit higher and hold it more comfortably. It wasn't much as it was still extremely heavy, but it was certainly easier.

"Looks like shark boys got a crush." Naruto said as he moved to look down at the rest of Mr. Freeze's equipment. It was all broken a part to ensure that it couldn't be used and while he couldn't even begin to imagine how to build it, he couldn't help but marvel at the technology itself.

"Jealous?" Crystal teased as she rested the weapon against the crate to give her arms some rest.

Shaking his head, Naruto went to answer only for them both to see a cable pierce the ground. Looking up they saw Batman coming towards them and Naruto quickly pushed Frost to one side and raised both hands up into the air just as Batman's foot struck it. Even so, he was knocked back a little though his footing remained strong.

Lowering his guard Naruto made out the sight of Frost being kicked to the ground by Batman before said man came after him.

Quickly, Naruto parried Batman's first attacks, catching the last two punches in both hands and made sure to keep hold. Tensing his muscles and making sure his footing was correct, Naruto pushed against Batman.

"I'm not going to fight you." Naruto said only for Batman to shift his back foot and flip Naruto away and into a pile of crates. It was at that time that King Shark appeared only to have his charge stopped by a double footed stomp to his back from Batgirl who had dropped from the rafters.

Batman used this opportunity to land a number of blows to King Shark's midsection forcing the supervillain to move back slightly. Batgirl on the other hand had already vacated her position on King Shark's head and flipped through the air while simultaneously throwing a number of Batarangs at Deadshot.

The number of them as well as still reeling from their sudden appearance meant that Deadshot only managed to destroy all but one. That final one coming dangerously close to hitting him had it not been for him raising his hands up and sacrificing one of his wrist-mounted guns.

Landing on the rafters, Batgirl quickly came under assault from Black Spider who was overwhelming her with his superior strength. The two exchanged a number of blows, Batgirl scrambling backwards and reeling from Black Spiders assault. The skill he was displaying was on a level just slightly above her own, his greater physical strength and her being off balance meant that she was on the back foot.

That was, until a boomerang slammed into the side of his head and stalled him long enough for Batgirl to kick him off the rafters where he slammed into a pile of wooden boxes that caved under his weight.

Batman meanwhile was already dodging a number of King Shark's wild punches until out of the corner of his eye he noticed Killer Frost aiming Mr. Freeze's gun at him that while not fully built, was still ready to fire as a result of channeling her own powers through it.

Diving to one side, he avoided the beam that struck King Shark's head freezing it while also throwing a Batarang at Killer Frost's feet that upon exploding flung her backwards to land beside Naruto. The blonde vigilante remaining where he was as he watched Batman fire his grappling hook at Captain Boomerang who was throwing his weapons at Barbara. Said young hero was dodging masterfully.

The grappling hook wrapped around Captain Boomerangs wrist who looked at it dumbly only to be pulled to directly towards Batman. As he did so, Batman was also throwing one punch forwards that collided with the villains face.

Having seen enough, Naruto turned on his heel and left the warehouse.

"Where are you going?" Looking over his shoulder, Naruto saw Frost following after him.

"I'm going to kill the Riddler."

"Kill the Riddler?" Frost repeated. "Why? That's not what we came here to do."

Naruto stopped and turned to face her. "Do you really believe a guy as smart as the Riddler, a guy who has outsmarted Batman would only make one copy of the hard drive? Do you really believe he wouldn't have memorised every name on that list including mine and yours?"

With that said, Naruto continued to walk down the corridors and Frost eventually following after him a few moments later.

Things were silent for a while as they moved stealthily through the corridors of Arkham, making sure to keep out of sight of any security cameras as well as avoiding guard patrols. It made there journey a lot longer than Naruto would have liked, but they eventually got to their location.

Peaking his head out from around the corridor, he took note of the number of guards. _'Five guards, with what looks to be two in the security room.'_ As his mind formulated a plan, Killer Frost was also looking around the room.

"So, what's the plan here, lover boy?" She asked.

"Don't call me that." Naruto replied before becoming more serious. "You wait here while I break into the security room, then on my mark take out the guards quickly and quietly. Don't let any of them get to their radios."

Humming, Frost nodded her head in agreement.

Rushing forwards, Naruto carefully moved around the outside of the prison section, making sure to keep out of sight of all the guards as he closed in on the security room of this wing. Eventually he got there and he braced up against the door, looking through the small window to see that he was wrong. There were five guards and not two in the security room.

_'Either way, it makes no difference.'_ He just hoped that Killer Frost would stop the rest of the guards before they could call for backup.

Slowly, Naruto turned the door handle and gently pushed the door wide enough for him to slip inside. Closing it behind him, Naruto moved to crouch down behind an empty desk and peaked out over the tops to see reaffirm their positions.

Two were sat at the far end looking over the security monitors.

One was by the coffee machine.

Another sat at a desk on the left handside facing away from him while talking on the phone.

The final guy however, was looking out the window, overlooking the prisoners.

Moving quickly, Naruto grabbed hold of the guard by the coffee machine, Stabbing him in the neck while covering his mouth to silence any sound he made. Gently, he dragged him back behind a desk before placing him down.

Again he peaked over to see that no one had noticed, whether that would change was up for debate.

Either way, he had his next target as the guy on the phone put it down and began talking to the guard looking out the window. "Sir, theres been reports of fighting in the warehouse." He informed and Naruto cursed internally when the lead guard turned around to answer.

"I see, have you contacted the head of security and the warden?"

"I have with the warden, sir. But," he paused. "But I haven't been able to get through to the head of security."

"Hmm." The lead guard hummed and then looked over the room, his eyes stopping of the sight of the full coffee mug laid innocently by the coffee machine. "Where's Mathew?" Knowing that now was the best chance to attack as they were unarmed, Naruto stood up, pistol raised and with four quick shots killed them all.

There was a shout from outside and Naruto could see the guards and a number of prisoners looking in his direction. However, before the guards could do anything they were engulfed in a wave of blue mist that froze them all instantly.

Sparing a nod to Killer Frost who stepped into view, Naruto moved forwards to look over the control panel. It took him a few moments to figure out which button to press before he eventually found the one that opened the Riddler's cell.

Moving out, Naruto stood beside Frost as they looked at Riddler who in turn looked up at them, with a smile on his face. "Do you want to do the honours or shall I?" Frost asked as her hand morphed into a blade bade entirely of ice.

"I see I am not the only one dear Mrs Waller has forced into her schemes." Edward bemoaned theatrically as he took in the sight of Gotham's new vigilante Black Hood and known supervillain, Killer Frost. It really only came down to one conclusion that made sense. They were in a situation he too had been in and didn't that make things interesting

While curious as to how the Riddler figured it out, Naruto didn't care nor have time to deal with his riddles. "Shut your mouth Riddler. I don't have time nor do I desire to listen to you talk." Naruto stalked forwards, intent on ending the Riddler and getting out of Arkham and ending the whole ordeal as soon as possible.

Edward realised this and quickly waved his arms rapidly. "Wait!" He cried desperately. "I can help you! The bombs in your neck, I know how to get rid of them."

This got Naruto to pause as he looked to Frost, she in turn just shrugging. "Talk." Naruto demanded. "And not in any of your stupid riddles."

"Fine." Edward poured as he crossed his arms over his chest like a child. "Ruin my fun."

"Tell us what we want to know and I won't freeze your balls off." Frost threaten as she placed one hand on the wall covering the room in a thick frost. The temperature in the cell becoming noticeably colder forcing the Riddler to start shivering as his breath became cloudy.

"I need to get to the medical bay and I can help you remove them. I won't tell you how as you'll probably kill me then do it."

"And what's to stop us from killing you afterwards?" Frost asked which seemed to cause Edward to pause.

"Ah, well." Chuckling nervously, he looked to Naruto imploringly as he realised Frost was very serious and faltered when he saw the hard gaze directed at him by Black Hood. "Think of it as a transaction, you get something and I get something. You get those bombs out of your neck and I get to live."

There was silence for a few moments. "You'll go back to your cell after this is done. If not, I'll find you and kill you." Naruto explained and while his lips did start to twist into a scowl, Edward accepted with a nod of his head. Naruto himself didn't want to accept and he was considering going back on his word, but he knew things could become infinitely more difficult after all this.

While he had and Frost did have sex, there was nothing stopping her from turning on him as soon as this was all said and done. And there was no doubt Waller would know of the bombs no longer working and she might order the rest of the squad to kill them.

No, he needed to be cautious right now. He needed to get out of Arkham as soon as possible, he could always kill them at a later date.

Moving forwards, Naruto grabbed hold of Edward by his uniform and dragged him out of the cell, Frost following behind.

**-X- Line Break -X- **

_Friday 1st May, 6:10._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City, _

_Arkham Asylum._

"That went well." Frost snarked as she quickly hid behind the wall as the Special Crimes Unit fired at them.

"And like the hangmen, we are at the end of our rope." Ignoring the Riddler, Naruto took aim and emptied the rest of his clip. It didn't do much only bouncing off the riot shields harmlessly and he was then forced to hide as the wall he was upon against came under fire, bits of it being chipped off by the never ending hail of bullets.

However, he hadn't expected much else and had only used that opportunity to see how they were positioned and it wasn't looking good. Those with riot shields were crouched, covering their entire body from the front. Behind them the rest of the guards were firing over the top.

_'Damn it, I'm so close.' _Naruto clutched his pistols tightly in anger and that's when he heard one of the guards crying out in pain, the firing stopping soon afterward their formation was thrown into disarray.

Looking he saw two of the guards dead and then turned to see Deadshot running towards them, his lone wrist-mounted gun firing upon the Special Crimes Unit. However, they had managed to reform quickly and the bullets did nothing, bouncing off the riot shields much like Naruto's had.

Behind him were the rest of the Suicide Squad. "You can thank us later, losers." Captain Boomerang said as he threw two boomerangs. One boomerang bounced off a shield while another managed to smack the head of one of the guards holding a riot shield.

Using this opportunity, Naruto fired his newly reloaded pistol killing one of the guards that had been exposed by Captain Boomerangs strike just as Deadshot came to a stop beside him. "This better be good." He stated, his tone annoyed.

"Believe me, it better be as well." Naruto replied as he pointed his thumb towards the Riddler. "He apparently knows how to turn off the bombs." That certainly got Deadshots attention as he looked to the Riddler for confirmation.

Smiling, Edward pulled down his collar to show that on his neck was a scar in the shape of an X. "Look familiar?" There was silence as the Riddler then looked to Deadshot. "I can do it, but you've got to get me into the medical centre."

"And considering Waller will probably figure out what's happening, we're on a time limit." Naruto continued. "So if we're all done playing twenty-one questions, can we deal with those guys over there?"

"Go for that room and we'll be killed." Deadshot informed as he looked to King Shark with a smirk.

Captain Boomerang voiced the thoughts that had already been going through his mind. "Should have brought a tank."

"We have one." Deadshot answered firmly and King Shark noticed his gaze. The humanoid creature looked over the wall and noticed how high up they were and Naruto groaned in annoyance when he saw the fear in King Shark's eyes.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." Naruto muttered and then looked to Killer Frost. Indicating to King Shark with his head, Frost shook her head with a sigh of defeat. For some reason, King Shark seemed to…like Frost and Naruto was going to be abuse that to get this bomb out of his neck.

A few moments later and King Shark was walking out with his arms raised while his eyes were covered by a bandage. On his back, Killer Frost hung there making sure he didn't walk off the edge.

Just as they got close to a water pipe, King Shark rushed towards it under Frosts order causing the entire bridge to be flooded with water that Frost froze instantly. Yet King Shark kept going knocking all the guards off the bridge as they plummeted to the ground, the ice under feet breaking apart as he ran straight into the door to the medical centre and bounced straight off it.

"Let's move." Deadshot ordered as they rushed across the bridge.

"Good job." Naruto congratulated as he caught up they caught up to Killer Frost and King a Shark.

"I'm just that good." She shot back as they entered inside. On the way, Naruto passed Black Spider and as he looked at him closer Naruto felt there was something different about him. It was in the way he held himself, the way he seemed more relaxed and considering Black Spider was on edge constantly, it was certainly confusing.

As they passed by Black Spider, Naruto felt something slip into his hand and discretely looked down to see a Batarang being placed into his hand. With narrowed eyes, Naruto looked to what he knew now to be Batman and gave a short nod.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Friday 1st May, 6:15._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City, _

_Arkham Asylum._

Barbara crouched down as she looked through the windows of the medical centre. She could see the villains moving chairs into a circle while the Riddler explained something. What he was explaining, she couldn't tell. Either way, it was her job to remain here till Batman had learned enough and then she would assist in bringing them down.

Her eyes then landed on the sight of Naruto as he sat down in the chair. She had at first being angry and confused as to why he was here, that was until Batman had explained about a government task force that took convicts and forced them to complete suicide missions.

Missions that had more often than not caused a great deal of collateral damage in the completion of said mission.

It certainly made her feel easier to know that Naruto wasn't doing this willingly. Thought she already had her suspicions when Naruto didn't even attempt to get involved in the fight back at the warehouse. He could have certainly put up a better fight than he had but instead walked away as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

Which wasn't really Naruto's style.

As seconds passed by, Barbara began to piece together what they were doing. _'They're trying to disable the bombs.'_Barbara realised, she and Batman having used the brief reprise granted by Deadshots final shot from the rocket launcher to allow him to changed into Black Spider's costume, but to also analyse the nanotechnology in his neck.

It was only a short analysis, yet they had managed to learn that on top of being a tracker, it also served as bomb. A bomb that made sure to keep them in line and the thought of that in Naruto's neck filled her with anger.

Before her very eyes, she watched as all but Batman disguised as Black Spider were subjected to hundreds of volts of electricity. Their bodies tensed as they bit down upon the wood in their mouth.

Eventually however, as time passed things took a turn for the worse as King Shark's head exploded and then the Joker arrived. Reacting quickly, Barbara pulled out her grappling gun and fired, allowing it to reel her in as she burst through the window in a shower of glass.

This shower forced the Joker to temporarily stop firing his gun at Batman and cover his face, leaving him vulnerable. Something she didn't ignore as Barbara threw a handful of Batarangs at the Joker while Batman interrogated Naruto.

"What are you doing here?" He demanded and Naruto spat out the wood in his mouth.

"Waller wanted us to sneak into Arkham take the information from the Riddler that he stole." Naruto explained and then with a grunt, began to exert force against the metal restraints. Batman in turn was unable to help as Killer Frost broke free and fired a number of icicles at him, each of them missing Naruto by hairsbreadth while the dark knight flipped away.

With one final push, Naruto managed to free one hand and then used it to rip off the rest of his restraints.

However, that was when the Joker gave them all a little surprise as from his jacket a number of objects fell and rolled across the ground. They were no bigger than marbles, but by the way Barbara leaped away, they weren't harmless.

And he was proven correct when a small number of them exploded, and then another and then another. More and more exploded in sporadic numbers filling the room with smoke and destroying any appliance they came into contact.

Coughing, Naruto stumbled out of the door as did Frost, Deadshot, Harley and Captain Boomerang. "Anyone see where Batman and Batgirl went?" Naruto asked.

"Jumped out the window last I saw." Captain Boomerang answered.

With a nod, Naruto turned on his heel heading in the opposite direction of the rest of them. "Hey, where you off?" Deadshot asked and partly demanded.

"The bomb's gone from my neck." Naruto stated as he looked at them over his shoulder. "I see no reason or desire to stay around and help you anymore. Be content with the fact that I'm letting you leave here alive because I could change that right now." Captain Boomerang grit his teeth and raised two of the few boomerangs he had left threateningly.

"You think you can?!"

"Please, Harley is injured however small and from what I saw, all of you got in each other's way against Batman and Batgirl in the warehouse. You're more likely to hit each other than me." Naruto's lips twitched into a smirk as he looked at Deadshot with a calm gaze. "You're all tired and still reeling from the electricity whereas I am perfectly fine. So by all means, let's do this here and now."

"Enough." Deadshot as he regarded Naruto with a curious gaze. While everything Naruto said was true, they both knew that a fight would end only one way and it was not with Naruto's victory. He would certainly put up a fight and kill maybe half of them if not more, but he would lose at the end of the day. He was good, but not that good.

However, even if they were to call him out on his bluff, the fight would long and tiring. Giving Batman and his sidekick or the guards at Arkham time to get here and pick off whoever was left.

"We need to leave now." George looked ready to argue at Deadshots words, but he instead thought better of it when he noticed Harley following after him and the dangerous look in Naruto's gaze.

Clicking his teeth in annoyance, Captain Boomerang spat on the ground and left in a huff.

"You not going to go?" Naruto asked as he noticed Frost still remaining behind.

She walked towards him slowly and deliberately. "I am." She replied before coming to a stop. With one hand she pulled down his mask and leaned up to give him a kiss that was short and passionate. "Just wanted to give you a parting gift. Don't forget above me. lover boy, I'll make sure to rock your world again when we meet next."

"Next time we meet, we won't be on the same side and I'll put you down." Blowing him a kiss, Frost just smiled as she walked after what remained of the Suicide Squad, not in the least perturbed by his threat.

Shaking his head, Naruto turn back and continued to walk away from them and Arkham all together.

**-X- Line Break -X-**

_Friday 1st May, 6:40._

_New Jersey,_

_Gotham City, _

_Arkham Asylum._

With a gasp, Naruto's head broke the surface of the cold sea and looked back to see Arkham Asylum behind him with a number of police boats in the surrounding area. It had taken a great deal of stealth to avoid the number of police officers that had flooded into the asylum and even more when trying to avoid the boats patrolling the water surrounding the small island.

However, he had done so and pulled himself up onto a small ledge that sat just above the waters surface and below the bridge leading to Arkham.

He hadn't noticed in the walls of Arkham, but night was starting to give way to day as sunlight slowly streamed across the sky illuminating all below. Realising this, Naruto moved further back into the shadows and looked around for a way to get out of here without being seen.

"Hello, Naruto." Spinning round, Naruto let his right hand extend in order to cut whoever was behind him. He hit nothing but air as he went with the momentum to see that the figure who spoke had already predicted the move and avoided it with ease. "I thought it would be best to meet you in person at last."

"Deathstroke?" Naruto questioned as he looked at the tall, muscular figure clad in an orange and black combat suit. He had two pistols at his side, a large broadsword on his back and a couple of knives strapped to his body and it made Naruto nervous. "What'd you want?"

"I want to once again extend my offer of training." Deathstroke offered. "I imagine you realised after your fight against Killer Croc that you still have quite a ways to go and no doubt, you realised today that you are once again, not quite strong enough for some of the bigger players out there."

"Bigger players? There wasn't much in there that I struggled with."

Deathstroke chuckled as if finding his words amusing, which he did. "Really? Then what about Amanda Waller and the bomb she planted in your neck." Deathstroke suggested amusedly. "I believe you misunderstood me when I said I big player. In this world, the big players aren't just those that can go against Superman or some of the other big hitters of the Justice League. No it's also people like Amanda Waller and Batman, people who make up for a lack of strength with intelligence and cunning."

There was a pause as Deathstroke allowed Naruto to absorb his words.

"What I'm offering is training to not only allow you to fight on par with the likes of Batman, but also gather every bit of dirt and every nasty secret people like Amanda Waller have and use it to crush them. You want to create a world in which Barbara can be safe, you'll need resources and information. Being a mercenary is an easy way of accomplishing that." Deathstroke explained with finality.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Naruto pretended like he wasn't intrigued or tempted by the offer. "And what makes you think I want to create a world like that?"

"Don't play coy, Naruto. It doesn't suit you." The mercenary said simply. "We both know the truth so let's not beat around the bush. You want to save Barbara and you'll need to take out everyone who is a threat to that. And in this world, everyone has their own agenda and therefore, is a threat."

"You're talking about me wanting to create a world of peace where no one fights." Naruto stated and Deathstroke remained silent. "Surely for a mercenary like you, a world of peace would run you out of business."

"I doubt you'll succeed, but if you do I'll be long dead by that point.

"And whys that?" Naruto asked.

"Because I will have been hired by people to kill you. All to stop you from achieving that goal." Deathstroke answered. "If you succeed it means I failed to kill you and therefore, I'm dead."

Naruto remained silent just looking at Deathstroke unsurely.

"Naruto Uzumaki, do you really believe that you can save Barbara and Jim without sacrifice. Look at what you've already done, how many people you've killed all to save them. And you'll have to kill many more." Deathstroke's voice was calm and took a tone of amusement. "At least as a mercenary you'll get paid to do it. So what'd you say?"

Deathstroke extended one hand and Naruto stared at it.

**A/N: Not overly pleased with this chapter, but oh well, I hope you enjoyed it anyway. However, this is now the end of the third arc and all that remains is two more arcs before we get to Young Justice season. They will be short, no more than 2-3 chapters so don't worry, not too much longer now. Though, the second arc to come actually takes place within the first couple of episodes so in reality, it's just one more arc to go. **

**However, do let me know what you thought of this chapter. It was awkward because I took a lot of influence from the animated movie as many of you might know. That's because this was kind of a practise for what's to come in the YJ arcs. So this was a practise of me balancing so many characters at once, as well as turning an animated tv series/movie into a book. Hopefully you did enjoy this chapter though.**

**Anyway, please let me know what you thought as its always welcome.**

**Now, onto the questions:**

**Issexwithyourcloneincest: Just gotta say, I love your username. As for Killer Frost, yes and no. It's a little complicated, but I can't reveal much too late without it being a huge spoiler. If you would like me to explain, send me a PM but do be warned the info is a huge spoiler for one of the main story threads I have going. Also, thank you for your understanding.**

**Yakuza2010: To be honest, it would be pretty funny because considering who Wally is he would probably be angry Naruto slept with a criminal, while also filled with jealousy at the same time. As for George, nah it'd be cool but too out of character. No, Naruto and George's relationship is one of mutual dislike. Also, thank you for the suggestions, I'll definitely go check them out.**

**DylanTheDemon: Mostly because whenever Slade uses a similar weapon it's an extendable staff so that's what he taught Naruto to use. When I say took influence from Lancer, think of the movements and the way he fights when reading Naruto's fights. **

**kirashu: Because he knows how much Naruto means to Barbara and also because he's trying to turn Naruto over to his ideology. Much like he did with Barbara, Dick, Jason and Tim he recognised talent and potential in Naruto and wants to help Naruto change his ways. Hence he's more focused on working with and changing Naruto slowly to his way of thinking rather than arresting him. **

**gskama131: Oh I know Naruto's not weak, I'm just trying to make people realise that he's not this all powerful godlike figure people believe he is. In Naruto, he is overpowered, but the power scaling in Naruto is vastly different than what it is in DC. The fact you realise that is a relief that there is still hope for some people out there. But anyway, I'm not saying Naruto's weak because while he might not be top 50 that doesn't mean he couldn't put up a fight against them. He can, it's just that out of every ten fights, Naruto would lose 8 out of 10 times. And each fight is extremely dangerous and destructive, but the difference in power, experience and skill is just too much for Naruto to take a spot in the top 50. **

**Trust me, the difference in strength only becomes more clear when you look at the top 25 and even more so when it comes to top 10. Those guys are insanely powerful and Naruto would have to do everything in his power just to survive. The only Naruto character that actually reaches top 50 level is Madara and even then he's in the lower spectrum, 50-40 range. **

**Sultan Asil Arslan: I considered that, but I decided against it. Instead, I have some other people in mind to take on that role. Also I do have plans for Constantine and Diana, but as for Ted Grant, he's not around yet. As you can tell, I'm mixing up the timelines and so, Wildcat isn't around and won't be until much later on. A good couple of years in fact. **

**Malicious hero: No, not yet. She's still a slave and yes, I do plan to have Naruto take Robins place, but it won't be a copy and paste scene like some do. I'm going to be making changes to Starfires arrival on Earth and therefore, making Naruto's impact on Starfire more profound. **

**Nise no kishi: As of right now, we are actually ahead of where I was originally so this is an entirely new chapter, so let me know what you thought. **

**Goldshqipe: Oh definitely, Starfires going to be the exception to that as Naruto saving her will have a more profound effect on her. But Naruto at the time will be in a relationship with Barbara so he'll get closer to Starfire as a friend. As for Kara, things are going to be a bit awkward cos Naruto going to be in his early thirties before she finally arrives on Earth and while I'll be bumping Karas age up to early twenties, she's still going to be young. But yes, each of them will be developing a friendship with Naruto before a relationship forms. **

**For Naruto and Frost, it's complicated as there is and there isn't. If you'd like me to explain in more detail let me know in a PM but be warned there will be massive spoilers. The reason I'm saying this is because it's directly linked to one of the main story threads linked to Naruto's development in strength but also his main development in character as well. And yes, there will be more friends with benefits, life has a way of breaking people apart and like most times when on a break or suffering from a break up, people seek out others. Naruto is no different. **

**Hope this clears up any questions you might have and if not, please let me know in a review and I will answer as best as I can.**


	17. Data Sheet III - Arkham Assault Arc

**Injustice: The Path to Hell**

**Character Profiles:**

**These are the barriers for intelligence and fighting skill:**

**Intelligence:**

**0-5 – Average intelligence, deductive reasoning and beginner in tactics. **

**6-10 – Above average intelligence, deductive reasoning and intermediate in tactics.**

**11-15 – Genius intelligence, deductive reasoning and advanced tactics. **

**16-19 – Super Genius intelligence and master tactics.**

**20 – Omniscient.**

**Fighting Skill:**

**0-5 – Basic fighting skills.**

**6-10 – Intermediate fighting skills.**

**11-15 – Advanced fighting skills.**

**16-20 – Master fighting skills.**

**So these are the clear barriers diving Intelligence and Fighting Skill apart, bare in mind that for intelligence it's decided overall by those three aspects. The best example of this is Naruto's, in tactics he is in the third level (11-15), but intelligence and deductive reasoning are in the first (0-5) and so he's overall average is in the second (6-10). So hope that clears up any confusion on why Naruto's intelligence is so low. **

**Post-Arkham Assault Arc:**

Name – Naruto Uzumaki.

Alias(s) – Black Hood.

Age – 16.

Height – 6"1.

Weight – 175 pounds.

Hair Colour – Blonde.

Eye Colour – Blue

Powers:

\- Adaption.

\- Decelerated Ageing.

\- Enhanced Agility.

\- Enhanced Durability.

\- Enhanced Intellect.

\- Enhanced Reflexes.

\- Enhanced Senses.

\- Enhanced Speed.

\- Enhanced Stamina.

\- Enhanced Strength.

\- Regeneration.

Data:

Strength – 13/40 (Enhanced Tier).

Speed – 11/40 (Enhanced Tier).

Durability – 12/40 (Enhanced Tier)

Endurance – 15/40 (Enhanced Tier).

Fighting Skills – 10/20.

Intelligence – 10/20.

(Unique Powers – 2/10).

Total – 71/200 (73/210).

-X-

Name – Barbara Gordon.

Alias(s) – Batgirl.

Age – 16.

Height – 5"5.

Weight – 126 pounds

Hair Colour – Red.

Eye Colour – Green.

Powers:

N/A

Data:

Strength – 7/40 (Human Tier).

Speed – 8/40 (Human Tier).

Durability – 5/40 (Human Tier).

Endurance – 8/40 (Human Tier).

Fighting Skills – 13/20.

Intelligence – 15/20.

(Unique Powers – 0/10).

Total – 56/200 (56/210).

-X-

Name – Bruce Wayne.

Alias(s) – Batman.

Age – 31.

Height – 6"2.

Weight – 210 Pounds.

Hair Colour – Black.

Eye Colour – Blue.

Powers:

N/A.

Data:

Strength – 9/40 (Human Tier).

Speed – 9/40 (Human Tier).

Durability – 9/40 (Human Tier).

Endurance – 9/40 (Human Tier).

Fighting Skills – 20/20.

Intelligence – 19/20.

(Unique Powers – 0/10).

Total – 75/200 (75/210).

**Due to injury, all of Batman's physical stats have been reduced by one.**

-X-

Name – Richard Grayson.

Alias(s) – Robin.

Age – 13.

Height – 5"2.

Weight – 90 Pounds.

Hair Colour – Black.

Eye Colour – Blue.

Powers:

N/A.

Data:

Strength – 6/40 (Human Tier).

Speed – 8/40 (Human Tier).

Durability – 5/40 (Human Tier).

Endurance – 7/40 (Human Tier).

Fighting Skills – 13/20.

Intelligence – 15/20

(Unique Powers – 0/10).

Total – 54/200 (54/210).

-X-

Name – Slade Wilson.

Alias(s) – Deathstroke.

Age – 52.

Height – 6"5.

Weight – 225 Pounds.

Hair Colour – White.

Eye Colour – Blue.

Powers:

\- Adaption.

\- Decelerated Ageing.

\- Enhanced Agility.

\- Enhanced Durability.

\- Enhanced Intellect.

\- Enhanced Reflexes.

\- Enhanced Senses.

\- Enhanced Speed.

\- Enhanced Stamina.

\- Enhanced Strength.

\- Limited Precognitive Vision.

\- Regeneration.

Data:

Strength – 15/40 (Enhanced Tier).

Speed – 15/40 (Enhanced Tier).

Durability – 15/40 (Enhanced Tier)

Endurance – 15/40 (Enhanced Tier).

Fighting Skills – 20/20.

Intelligence – 15/20.

(Unique Powers – 2/10).

Total – 95/200 (97/210).

-X-

Name – Waylon Jones.

Alias(s) – Killer Croc.

Age – 28.

Height – 7"5.

Weight – 686 Pounds.

Hair Colour – N/A.

Eye Colour – Red.

Powers:

\- Armoured Skin.

\- Claws.

\- Enhanced Senses.

\- Fangs.

\- Regeneration.

\- Superhuman Speed.

\- Superhuman Strength.

Data:

Strength – 20/40 (Enhanced Tier).

Speed – 15/40 (Enhanced Tier).

Durability – 18/40 (Enhanced Tier).

Endurance – 12/40 (Enhanced Tier).

Fighting Skills – 8/20.

Intelligence – 5/20.

(Unique Powers – 2/10).

Total – 78/200 (80/210).

-X-

Name – Victor Zsasz.

Alias(s) – Mister Zsasz.

Age – 36.

Height – 5"8.

Weight – 150 Pounds.

Hair Colour – Blonde.

Eye Colour – Blue.

Powers:

N/A.

Data:

Strength – 10/40 (Human Tier).

Speed – 10/40 (Human Tier).

Durability – 8/40 (Human Tier).

Endurance – 9/40 (Human Tier).

Fighting Skills – 12/20.

Intelligence – 11/20.

(Unique Powers – 0/10).

Total – 60/200 (60/210).

-X-

Name – Floyd Lawton.

Alias(s) – Deadshot.

Age – 34.

Height – 6"1.

Weight – 202 Pounds.

Hair Colour – Brown,

Eye Colour – Brown.

Powers:

N/A.

Data:

Strength – 9/40 (Human Tier).

Speed – 8/40 (Human Tier).

Durability – 8/40 (Human Tier).

Endurance – 8/40 (Human Tier).

Fighting Skills – 18/20.

Intelligence – 11/20.

(Unique Powers – 0/10).

Total – 62/200 (62/210).

-X-

Name – Crystal Frost.

Alias(s) – Killer Frost.

Age – 19.

Height – 5"4.

Weight – 123 Pounds.

Hair Colour – Blue.

Eye Colour – Blue.

Powers:

\- Cryokinesis.

\- Heat Absorption.

Data:

Strength – 6/40 (Human Tier).

Speed – 7/40 (Human Tier).

Durability – 5/40 (Human Tier).

Endurance – 9/40 (Human Tier).

Fighting Skills – 5/20.

Intelligence – 8/20.

(Unique Powers – 3/10).

Total – 40/200 (43/210).

-X-

Name – George Harkness.

Alias(s) – Captain Boomerang.

Age – 39.

Height – 5"9.

Weight – 167 Pounds.

Hair Colour – Brown.

Eye Colour – Brown.

Powers:

N/A.

Data:

Strength – 9/40 (Human Tier).

Speed – 6/40 (Human Tier).

Durability – 7/40 (Human Tier).

Endurance – 6/40 (Human Tier)l

Fighting Skills – 9/20.

Intelligence – 7/20.

(Unique Powers – 0/10).

Total – 44/200 (44/210).

-X-

Name – Nanaue.

Alias(s) – King Shark.

Age – 23.

Height – 7"2.

Weight – 380 Pounds.

Hair Colour – N/A.

Eye Colour – Black.

Powers:

\- Animal Empathy.

\- Claws.

\- Fangs.

\- Superhuman Durability.

\- Superhuman Stamina.

\- Superhuman Strength.

Data:

Strength – 18/40 (Enhanced Tier).

Speed – 8/40 (Enhanced Tier).

Durability – 16/40 (Enhanced Tier).

Endurance – 15/40 (Enhanced Tier).

Fighting Skills – 5/20.

Intelligence – 5/20.

(Unique Powers – 1/10).

Total – 67/200 (68/210).

-X-

Name – Harleen Quinzel.

Alias(s) – Harley Quinn.

Age – 27.

Height – 5"7.

Weight – 140 Pounds.

Hair Colour – Blonde.

Eye Colour – Blue.

Powers:

\- Enhanced Agility.

\- Enhanced Durability.

\- Enhanced Reflexes.

\- Enhanced Speed.

\- Enhanced Stamina.

\- Enhanced Strength.

\- Toxic Immunity.

\- Underwater Breathing.

Data:

Strength – 12/40 (Enhanced Tier).

Speed – 11/40 (Enhanced Tier).

Durability – 11/40 (Enhanced Tier).

Endurance – 11/40 (Enhanced Tier).

Fighting Skills – 12/20.

Intelligence – 11/20.

(Unique Powers – 1/10).

Total – 68/200 (69/210).

-X-

Name – Eric Needham.

Alias(s) – Black Spider.

Age – 22.

Height – 5"10.

Weight – 173 Pounds.

Hair Colour – Black.

Eye Colour – Brown.

Powers:

N/A.

Data:

Strength – 9/40 (Human Tier).

Speed – 10/40 (Human Tier).

Durability – 8/40 (Human Tier).

Endurance – 8/40 (Human Tier).

Fighting Skills – 13/20.

Intelligence – 9/20.

(Unique Powers – 0/10).

Total – 57/200 (57/210).

-X-

Name – Edward Nigma.

Alias(s) – The Riddler.

Age – 30.

Height – 6"1.

Weight – 183 Pounds.

Hair Colour – Black.

Eye Colour – Blue.

Powers:

N/A.

Data:

Strength – 6/40 (Human Tier).

Speed – 7/40 (Human Tier).

Durability – 5/40 (Human Tier).

Endurance – 6/40 (Human Tier).

Fighting Skills – 8/20.

Intelligence – 18/20.

(Unique Powers – 0/10.

Total – 50/200 (50/210).

-X-

Name – ?

Alias(s) – Joker.

Age – ?

Height – 6"5.

Weight – 192 Pounds.

Hair Colour – Green.

Eye Colour – Green.

Powers:

\- Pain Resistance.

\- Tainted Blood.

\- Toxic Immunity.

Data:

Strength – 8/40 (Human Tier).

Speed – 10/40 (Human Tier).

Durability – 10/40 (Human Tier).

Endurance – 9/40 (Human Tier).

Fighting Skills – 15/20.

Intelligence – 19/20.

(Unique Powers – 1/10).

Total – 71/200 (72/210).

**So there we are, all characters and there unique powers that you may or may not have known about. As you can see Naruto's number is steadily rising up to the point he is nearing a hundred, so he is improving massively. Now, lets get onto the first ranking which will look at the characters that have appeared in this arc. **

1\. Slade Wilson/Deathstroke.

2\. Bruce Wayne/Batman – The reason for this is because he is still suffering from his injuries, if not he would be above Slade.

3\. Joker.

4\. Floyd Lawton/Deadshot.

5\. Naruto Uzumaki/Black Mask.

6\. Eric Needham/Black Spider.

7\. Barbara Gordon/Batgirl.

8\. Waylon Jones/Killer Croc.

9\. Crystal Frost/Killer Frost.

10\. Nanaue/King Shark.

11\. Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn.

12\. Edward Nigma/Riddler.

13\. Victor Zsasz/Mister Zsasz.

14\. George Harkness/Captain Boomerang.

**Now this is a bit of a mess and confusing as to why some characters are ranked so high in comparison to others, so if you do have questions and want to know why I ranked certain characters where I have, do let me know and I'll explain my reasoning. Now the next ranking is going to look at all characters that have appeared so far. To make it a bit easier to read, I've separated it into groups of five so that should make it easier to read.**

1\. Bruce Wayne/Batman (Pre-Arkham Assault Arc).

2\. Slade Wilson/Deathstroke.

3\. Hal Jordan/Green Lantern.

4\. Alton Carver/The Talon.

5\. Bruce Wayne/Batman (Arkham Assault Arc).

-X-

6\. Floyd Lawton/Deadshot.

7\. Naruto Uzumaki/Black Mask (Arkham Assault Arc).

8\. Eric Needham/Black Spider.

9\. Barbara Gordon/Batgirl (Court of Owls Arc/Arkham Assault Arc).

10\. Waylon Jones/Killer Croc.

-X-

11\. Richard Grayson/Robin (Court of Owls Arc).

12\. Crystal Frost/Killer Frost.

13\. Basil Karlo/Clayface.

14\. Nanaue/King Shark.

15\. Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn.

-X-

16\. Barbara Gordon/Batgirl (Black Mask Arc).

17\. Naruto Uzumaki/Black Hood (Court of Owls Arc).

18\. Richard Grayson/Robin (Black Mask Arc).

19\. Edward Nigma/Riddler.

20\. Undead Talons.

-X-

21\. Roman Sionis/Black Mask.

22\. Victor Zsasz/Mister Zsasz.

23\. George Harkness/Captain Boomerang.

24\. Naruto Uzumaki/Black Hood (Black Mask Arc).

25\. Johnathan Crane/Scarecrow.

**So hopefully this made things easier for you to read and understand, I think splitting it into groups of five makes it easier, it also looks better as well. Anyway, as you can see Naruto has made a huge deal of improvement going from 24****th**** at the beginning all the way up to 7****th**** and his growth isn't going to stop. But as we can see, those introduced so far besides Batman and Deathstroke, are not even the middling tier of opponents to come. These are all lower tier villains, but we can see that besides Floyd and Alton, he can deal with the rest of the lower tier villains on his own. **


End file.
